Chapter XII: Part 12

There is not very much shooting in this neighbourhood; a few guinea-fowls and grouse, and an occasional hare, have been bagged, but even these are scarce. As for the wild-beasts, of which we were to see so much, they simply are not. The rhinoceroses, who were to dispute the passage of the defiles; the alligators and hippopotami, who were to lurk around the watering-places, and to render the fetching a jug of water a service of as great danger as was the drawing a goblet from the enchanted fountain in our dear old fairy tales,—all these monsters are unknown here. We hear of lions, indeed, but somehow they are never found in the parts of the country we traverse. The hyena and jackal are the only animals met with which could, even by courtesy, be called wild-beasts. These, indeed, swarm; and their numerous holes are a serious hindrance and danger to riders; beyond this they are harmless, and one would as soon think of shooting a fox as a jackal. Sportsmen are seriously disappointed; almost everyone has brought out either rifle or gun, and many have carried both. Now, when our luggage is limited to seventy-five pounds, the weight of even one rifle, with its bullet-mould and a good stock of lead and powder, is a very material consideration; and, after the sacrifice of many little comforts to retain the rifle, it is very hard to find that it is quite useless. There is still a faint hope that we may find large game near the Ashangi Lake; but, considering that it is over 5000 feet above the sea, I can hardly think it is likely that we shall find any large game there, except perhaps elephants. The owners of fowling-pieces are better off. There have been few camping-grounds where a good shot might not get a guinea-fowl or two in an hour’s ramble; and a guinea-fowl well cooked is one of the best game birds I know. Powder and shot are very valuable; indeed, they cannot be bought at any price, unless one is fortunate enough to find some one who, in the readjustment of his baggage, finds that he cannot possibly carry on all his stock of ammunition.

The plains here are singularly devoid of flowers: I never travelled in any country, indeed, where there was such a complete absence of wild-flowers; excepting, of course, the little watered dells, which I have described in previous letters. There is one solitary sort of flower, however, which I have met with in the plains in the neighbourhood, and which differs from any I ever saw before: it is a pea. The flower is of the size and colour of the “everlasting-pea;” but, instead of growing as a climber, the flower grows upon its own stalk from the ground. These flowers grow in clusters; but there are no leaves or stems, with the exception of the flower-stalk itself, three or four inches in height. The flower has a scent exactly resembling that of a violet, but less powerful: the seed is contained in a long, narrow pod, like that of a wallflower.

Scorpions are rather abundant here; and so, I am sorry to say, are white ants. It is not that one has any peculiar objection to white ants. They are certainly repulsive-looking insects, with their flabby white bodies and their big yellow heads, but that is of little consequence; and if they would but content themselves with walking about the tents and climbing over everything, as do other ants, together with spiders of every size, and a few beetles, one would not wish to interfere with their pleasures. Unfortunately they will not amuse themselves in this harmless way: they shun the light, and work in darkness, and their work consists in eating holes in the bottom of one’s portmanteau, or in the waterproof-sheet under one’s bed, or one’s saddles, or books, or anything else which may come handy to them.

Now, as we are going to leave most of our portmanteaus and luggage here until we return, this propensity of theirs becomes a grave inconvenience. I fancy that we shall find our luggage, when we return, in a very dilapidated condition. There is only one satisfaction,—our clothes are rapidly getting into a state beyond which even white ants can effect little further damage.

The remaining wing of the 4th Regiment arrived two days ago, and the second wing of the 33d marched in this morning. We have therefore all the troops now collected in readiness for the forward move, with the exception only of a portion of the Beloochees, the 3d Dragoon Guards, and the elephants with the six-inch mortars; together with the elephants to carry Murray’s guns. All these will, it is said, be here in two or three days. There is another thing of some slight importance lacking: this is money.

The commissariat have purchased such enormous quantities of flour and other stores, that the money brought up is exhausted. Fortunately another treasure-convoy is expected in a day or two.

This morning, at a quarter to six, General Staveley had all the troops out for a field-day. A deserted village upon a rising ground was attacked and carried in excellent style; but the manœuvres would have no interest to a general reader beyond those of any garrison field-day.

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Antalo, March 11th.

When Colonel Phayre went ahead on the day of our arrival at Antalo, and reported that the road was rather bad, but not impracticable, every one looked at the range of peaks ahead of us and had serious misgivings. An order was issued for our march upon the 7th, and a party of pioneers were sent on to clear away any slight obstacles which might occur. The report of their commanding officer as to the state of the road was most unfavourable, and a wing of the 33d were sent out to assist. In consequence of the reports which came in, the march was postponed to the 9th, and Captain Macgregor, of the quartermaster’s department, was sent out to report. On the evening of the 8th a joint report from this officer and Captain Goodfellow, of the Engineers, was received. It stated, “that they knew nearly every pass in India, but that in their experience they had met nothing whatever to compare to this defile, and that the Sooro pass was child’s-play in comparison. With the 800 men at work, it would, they calculated, take another ten days’ labour to make it practicable for mules.” All this time Colonel Phayre was still in front, but his reports gave us no idea of the true state of things. In the mean time we were receiving reports from Mr. Munzinger, who, as I stated in my last, had gone ahead to see Gobayze, and he said that the road, although difficult in places, was by no means bad. Of course, on the receipt of the reports of Captains Macgregor and Goodfellow, the march was again postponed. Everyone was indignant. Sir Robert Napier, I have reason to know, was more indignant than anyone, for his heart is set upon getting onward as fast as possible. On the 9th arrived an officer from the front, with the astounding intelligence that he had just ridden down the other road, which was known to exist; that it was six miles shorter; it passed over the mountain range at a point 1500 feet lower than the other, and presented throughout its whole distance no serious difficulties whatever. This it appeared, was the very route that Munzinger had travelled, and the discrepancies between his accounts and the real state of things were at once explained. At first the news was received with absolute incredulity. It seemed impossible that the quartermaster-general could have kept the troops at work for a week upon an impracticable road, when a good one lay ready at hand. The road, too, which Colonel Phayre had not explored is called the Royal road, which in itself was sufficient to show that it was the best and most frequented of the two. But the fact was, our political officer had heard that a rebel chief had a fortress upon this road; the same chief whom I mentioned in my last as having been reported by Colonel Phayre as opposing our way. The man really is perfectly friendly, and was at first rather more afraid of us than our quartermaster-general was of him. However, the mere fact of his being there was assumed to be a good reason for our not taking the road. And so a precious week has been wasted, and all the labour thrown away. The new road is, of course, not yet passable for the elephants with the heavy guns, but Sir Robert will push on with the 4th Regiment and the steel guns, and the 33d and the pioneer force will set to work and get it in order for the rest of the force as soon as possible. It is not often that we find a pioneer force engaged in making a road after the head-quarters and part of the army have gone by. Our first march is only eight miles. The distance thence up the pass is nineteen. I believe that the troops will do it in two days, but that Sir Robert Napier, with an escort, will go straight through to Attala, in order to judge for himself of the real state of things.

Our items of news from the rear are but of slight general interest. Captain St. John reports, I am told, that the natives have ceased to damage the telegraph-wires; but as a _per-contra_, he says that the wires are frequently broken by the baboons, who climb up the poles, and hang on the wires by their tails. I am assured that this is an absolute fact. One of the mule-drivers near Attegrat shot a native the other day. The man, who was armed with a gun, attempted to rob the mule; but the driver resisted, wrenched the gun from his hand, and shot him. The robber is not dead, but lies in a precarious state. The lesson was greatly required; but instead of being rewarded for his conduct, the mule-driver got a dozen lashes! I hope that the next driver whose mule is attacked will allow it to be looted, and that the functionary who has just so ably instructed mule-drivers not to defend the public property will be ordered to pay the cost of the stores stolen. Tents have been erected here for the reception of such luggage as cannot be carried on under the present regulations. I sent my portmanteau in this morning, and had the pleasure when moving it of finding that the white ants had eaten a large hole in the bottom. I do not expect to find any remains of it, or of its contents, upon my return. Captain Moore, the Commander-in-chief’s interpreter, has gone on ahead to pacify the local chiefs, and to assure them that we have no intention of molesting them. No better man could have been selected for the office. Captain Moore speaks almost every known language, and has had as much experience of native potentates as any man living. Major Grant has gone on to Attala, to buy provisions, &c. An officer of his African experience and standing would have been far better employed as an ambassador to King Gobayze; while bargaining with natives would have been much more in accordance with Mr. Munzinger’s experience and powers. Some tobacco has come up, and has been distributed among the troops, to their great satisfaction. During the last few days the troops have been exercised in turning out rapidly on the alarm being sounded. The sentries have, too, been placed and instructed as if in front of an enemy, who might at any moment make a night attack.

The natives here unanimously express their hopes and wishes that we should take possession of the country and become their masters. Our style of paying for everything we require has taken them entirely by surprise. It is altogether contrary to their experience. There is no doubt that they are extremely poor, and terribly ground down, and many of their very numerous vices are, to a certain extent, excusable upon this score. They are so poor that they will sell anything for dollars—their corn, their flour, their donkeys, their cattle, their wives, or their daughters. They are a terribly priest-ridden people. I should say that no people in the world pay such extortionate dues. The priests claim two-fifths of the gross produce; of the remainder one-third is claimed by the King; then comes the local chief: so that finally the unfortunate cultivator gets less than one-fifth of the crop he has raised. It is no wonder that the people are poor, and that in times of drought, or when the locusts sweep over the land, or the rebels, more destructive still, carry off crops and herds and flocks, famine stalks through the land. There is no doubt that our mastership would be an unmixed blessing to them, but it would certainly be the very reverse of advantageous to ourselves. From our landing at Zulla to the present time we have passed through a country more barren than any I ever traversed. Except for grazing purposes it is absolutely valueless. Here and there, in the valleys, are little patches of cultivation by the side of the streams; but in the whole two hundred miles we have passed through, looking east and west as far as the eye can reach, I do not think that we have seen, in all, five hundred acres of cultivated land. Taking the two hundred miles north and south by, say, ten miles east and west—in all, two thousand square miles—I would not take the fee-simple as a gift. I am not, of course, suggesting that the ground we have traversed is to be taken as a fair sample of Abyssinia. Unquestionably it is not so. It would be as fair to land in the north of England, and to skirt the sea-coast, keeping on the Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Welsh, and Cornwall hills, and then to pronounce England a sterile country. Still, by what we have seen, by the ranges of mountain-summits discernible everywhere in the far west, it is evident that a very large portion of Abyssinia is mere grazing-land; and it is probable that the valleys and low-lying plains, which are extremely fertile, would be unhealthy for European constitutions. Whatever ideas may have been entertained at one time as to our taking possession of a country so rich, so fertile, and so salubrious as this was represented to be, the experience of this expedition must have entirely dispelled this notion. The general aspect of the country is so bare, the fertile portions so distant from the coast, the roads so impracticable, that any idea of English colonisers settling here, as suggested by Mr. Dufton and others, is simply preposterous; and in addition to all this, a very large force would be required to keep a warlike and turbulent people in order. We see by the English papers that “A British Taxpayer” has been writing indignantly, demanding why two or three thousand men were not sufficient for this paltry business. If the British Taxpayer had been out here, he would not have asked such a question. British soldiers are by no means men to overrate difficulties, or to hold their enemies at higher than their real value. But the universal opinion here is, that we have not one man too many in the country. The tribes of Shohos on the sea-coast; the King of Tigre, who can summon 20,000 or 30,000 men to his banner; the fierce Gallas, through whom we have still to pass,—all these have been, and probably will be, friendly. But why? Simply because we are strong enough to keep them in order. No one doubts for a moment that if they thought that they were strong enough, they would fall upon us instantly for the sake of plunder. If the three thousand men who, according to this critic, would have been amply sufficient, could have been endowed with the agreeable faculty of going for three months without food, and if their horses had been similarly gifted, they would without doubt have been amply sufficient. Three thousand British soldiers, as long as they keep together in a compact body, could march from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope. But, unfortunately, men and animals who can go for three months without food are scarce in these degenerate days. Our experience here is that, with the exception of meat, no food whatever is procurable between Zulla and our present most advanced post, with the solitary exception of Antalo. Grain for the animals is almost as scarce. We have bought small quantities, indeed, at most of the stations, but we never get it for the first few days after our arrival. It is only after we have been at a place for a short time, and when the people find out how large a sum we pay for it, that they bring in even small quantities. Then the problem would present itself: these three thousand men must be fed. To be fed, they must carry supplies with them. These supplies must be conveyed upon baggage-animals. These baggage-animals must be fed. But there is no food to be obtained as they march on direct. Therefore, it is evident that dépôts must be formed, and these must be guarded; communication must be kept up, roads must be made to some extent, for there are many places perfectly impracticable for loaded animals. And so the three thousand men would be frittered all over the country, and would be harassed to death by overwork and watching, and it is certain they could never penetrate to Magdala. Has a “Taxpayer” ever read the history of the French campaign in Spain? Has he any idea of the number of hundred thousand men who marched into that country, and of the numbers who returned to France? A very small proportion of the deficit fell under British steel and lead. They were accounted for by the peasantry. They died, shot down upon baggage-guard, cut off when in search of provisions, surprised when in small parties, harassed to death by overwork. Such would have been the fate of three thousand men landing in Abyssinia. The people here are as brave as the Spaniards, the country is beyond all comparison more difficult, and the resources which, it offers to an invader are as nothing to those of Spain. Our force, as it is now constituted, is sufficient to overawe the country, and it is fortunate that it is so. For I say fearlessly, and there is not an officer here who would not support me in that opinion, that if the people were hostile, we could not even with our present force have ever hoped to reach Magdala. It would have been a sheer impossibility. A mere passive resistance, the driving away of flocks and herds, and the burning of the grass, would have brought us to a standstill at Senafe; while the bare idea of defending our communication, and guarding the enormous trains required for our march of three hundred miles through a barren, hostile, and most difficult country, is so supremely ridiculous as to be laughable. The experiment of the three thousand men, had it been tried, would have ended in a disaster such as, with the exception of Cabul, the British arms have never experienced, and it must afterwards have been retrieved with a force of three times the strength even of our present one, and at an expenditure which might have taught even the “British Taxpayer” that penny wisdom is an equivalent for pound foolishness.

A general order has just appeared regulating the whole distribution of the troops; and as this is a final arrangement, it will no doubt be interesting to all who have friends in the army here.

First Division.—Major-general Staveley, K.C.B., in command; Colonel Wood, deputy-adjutant-general; Major Baigrie, deputy-quartermaster-general. Pioneer Force: Brigadier-general Field. Troops: forty sabres 3d Native Cavalry; forty Scinde Horse; 3d and 4th company Bombay Sappers and Miners; two companies 33d Regiment; two companies Beloochees; one company Punjaub Pioneers.

First Brigade, Brigadier-general Schneider.—Troops: Head-quarters wing 3d Dragoon Guards, 3d Native Cavalry, Scinde Horse, G battery, 14, Royal Artillery, A battery 21st company Royal Artillery, 4th King’s Own, Head-quarters and eight companies 33d, 10th company Royal Engineers, Head-quarters and two companies Beloochees, Head-quarters wing 10th Native Infantry.

Second Brigade, Brigadier-general Wilby.—Wing of 12th Bengal Cavalry, B battery 21st Royal Artillery, two 8-inch mortars, with detachment 5th battery 25th Royal Artillery, Rocket Naval Brigade, K company Madras Sappers, seven companies Punjaub Pioneers, wing of Beloochees.

It will thus be seen that the 1st Division consists of four entire infantry regiments—the 4th, 33d, Beloochees, and Punjaub Pioneers—and a wing of the 10th Native Infantry, of the 3d Native Cavalry, the Scinde Horse, a wing of the Dragoon Guards, and a wing of the 12th Bengal Cavalry, three batteries of Royal Artillery and two 8-inch mortars, and three companies of Sappers and Miners and one company of Royal Engineers; an admirably-selected force, and which, as long as it kept together, would be invincible.

Another general order has also been promulgated, which I have very great pleasure in giving, because it does full justice to a most meritorious and hardworking body of officers. I have the more pleasure in giving publication to the order, as it thoroughly indorses the opinion I have all along stated that the transport officers were in no way to blame for the confusion which took place at Zulla:

“General Order.—Head-quarters, Camp Antalo, March 4th.—The Commander-in-chief has lately received from the Director Transport Train, Abyssinia field force, a full and particular report of the service rendered to the corps by the officers under his command. His Excellency has perused this report with much satisfaction, and it is most gratifying to him to find that, in spite of the numerous and extraordinary difficulties with which the officers of the transport-train have had to contend, and notwithstanding the hard and unceasing work they have had to perform, they have, almost without exception, displayed an amount of steady determination to do their best which is beyond all praise. The Commander-in-chief begs to assure Major Warden and the officers under his command that the work performed by them has not been overlooked, and shall not be forgotten. His Excellency trusts that one and all will remember that upon their individual exertions depends, in a great measure, the success of the expedition. The transport-train, for reasons far beyond the control of the officers belonging to it, has just commenced to assume that military organisation so requisite to its well-being, and for want of which at first it suffered so severely.... The Commander-in-chief is well aware how much the services of the officers of the transport-train have been depreciated, and how unfairly blame has been attached to them for shortcomings beyond their control. His Excellency, however, assures them that he has never for a moment lost confidence in them, nor has he ever doubted that their exertions would eventually bring order and regularity out of confusion and indiscipline.... All cannot of course work under the eye of the Commander-in-chief, and comparatively few can accompany the advanced force; but his Excellency will make no distinction when the campaign is over between those who were in front and those who were necessarily in the rear. All by good work can contribute materially to the success of the campaign, and it will be by that standard, and by that alone, that his Excellency will be guided when making hereafter his report upon the services performed by the officers under his command.—By order of his Excellency the Commander-in-chief. Fred. Thesiger, lieutenant-colonel, deputy-adjutant-general.”

Never was liberal praise more deserved, and it will be most gratifying to the men who have slaved and toiled almost night and day in the face of every possible discouragement.

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Meshech, March 14th.

We have advanced two days’ marches into the Abyssinian hills, and at every step forward we see more clearly the difficulties with which we have to struggle. The first day’s journey was to Musgee; an easy march of eight miles across an undulating plain. At Musgee we found the two companies of the 33d, two of the 10th Native Infantry, and the Sappers and Miners, who constitute the pioneer force. They had just come in, recalled from the hard and unprofitable labour in the defile, and now prepared to set to work anew upon the new route. They report the pass as a tremendous defile, and say that the detachment of Scinde Horse have lost no less than seven horses either from falls or from over-fatigue. We were amused at the natives who came round, and absolutely made fun of the soldiers for their unsuccessful attempts at making roads in impassable places, when there was a good road ready at hand. The head-quarters and the other three companies of the 33d, and the company of the Punjaub Pioneers, were near the other end of the defile, and they had orders to push straight on to Attala, and begin to improve the road from the other end. At Musgee we had clear running water, which was really enjoyable after the stagnant stuff we had been drinking at Antalo. On the morning of the 13th Sir Robert Napier started with his staff and an escort at seven o’clock. The rest of the force left at ten precisely. The march was eight miles—a short distance apparently; but when I state that a great number of the animals did not arrive until eight in the evening, it will be at once seen that it was very much harder work than it appears at first sight. The first three or four miles of this road, or rather track, led along the hill-side, and then as the valley narrowed in, and its sides became very precipitous, it kept along the bottom. There we crossed and recrossed a little stream at least a dozen times; and much of the delay and confusion was caused by mules insisting upon stopping to drink, and thereby of course bringing the whole line to a stop. This part of the march was by far the prettiest and most English we have seen out here. We were travelling in a grove of trees, with a thick underwood, except just where a path was cut wide enough for a single mule to pass. A really good-sized streamlet of clear water wound here and there, with quiet pools, and bright tumbling little cascades. Under our feet was a cool greensward, over our heads a shady screen of foliage. Imagine the charm of such a scene to us, who, except in an occasional secluded dell, have scarcely seen a tree, or felt shade, or heard the plash of falling water for months. How we should have liked to have halted, and to have enjoyed the turf and the shade for an hour or two! All our attention was required, however, for the work in hand, for in many places we had very rough bits, and the wood-nymphs and dryads must have been sorely startled at the shouting and tumult which arose in their quiet shades. On each side of us the mountains rose to a great height, crowned with perpendicular precipices, on one of which, seemingly accessible only to a bird, was the stronghold of some border chief. Presently the mountain sides receded a little, and we emerged into a small plain. In the centre of this ran the stream, and by its side were some very large trees, which I can best describe by saying they resemble oaks with willow-leaves. Here we encamped.

The troops had taken four hours to do the eight miles; but the commissariat animals, as I have stated, were more than double that time upon the road. Both at Musgee and here there is a great lack of grain for the animals. One pound of grain was all they got yesterday, and to-day at twelve there is to be a similar large issue. If this sort of thing continues, the animals must inevitably break down. The drivers, after their day’s work was over, did go up into the hills and cut some grass; but the coarse grass contains very little nourishment, and the horses refuse to eat it. The mules eat it, indeed, but it can do them very little good. I have all along in my calculations of the probable duration of the campaign argued that we must expect to come to places where forage was not procurable, and that if we came to a place where for four days’ marches we could get no grain and but little grass, that we must come to a standstill and form dépôts. Of course the difficulty will be proportionately greater when we have the whole advance force, with its thousands of cavalry-horses and baggage-animals with us. We were to have started this morning at seven o’clock; but a messenger arrived at two this morning with a letter from the Commander-in-chief to General Staveley, saying that the road was so bad that we must halt for a day to enable the pioneer force to smooth some of the most impracticable places. We have also news of the head-quarters and three companies of the 33d who had pushed on by the “Phayre” road to Attala. They had a distance of fourteen miles to go, four of which they had comparatively cleared. They started early, and they got in the following day at twelve o’clock, having been twenty-eight hours on the road. The pioneer force is hard at work upon the road ahead, and to-morrow morning we start for Attala. It is stated to be an eight-mile march; but I hear that the opinion of those who have gone on is, that it is a good thirteen. At Attala I anticipate that we shall wait some days-that is, if forage is obtainable. Everything must now depend upon this vital point. We must push-on to some place where abundant forage can be obtained, and we must then wait for the remainder of the force to come up. This must entail a halt of some days, whenever it is; for the 3d Dragoon Guards and the 12th Bengal Cavalry were both some marches’ distance from Antalo when we left, and they will, of course, have to make a halt of a day or two at that place upon their advance, to rest their animals. I hear that in the neighbourhood of Lât there is plenty of forage; in that case Lât will probably be our halting-place, if we find we cannot obtain sufficient grass and grain at Attala. Sportsmen have been looking forward to our arrival at Lake Ashangi, as game is likely to be abundant in that neighbourhood, especially wild-fowl. We have received a letter from Mr. Massinger, which shows that any attempt at wild-fowl shooting either at early dawn or at dusk is likely to be attended with some little danger. It is, he says, very difficult, and even dangerous, to approach the shores of the lake. They are very flat, and the whole surface of the ground has been broken up into chasms and crevasses, which are filled with soft mud, and are not easily distinguishable from the surrounding soil. A long stick plunged into the soft mud found no bottom, and a person falling into one of these would, unless immediate assistance was at hand, be inevitably lost. The natives say that these crevasses were all formed by an earthquake which took place about three years ago. Previous to that time the lake had an outlet through which the overflow water made its way into the Tacazze. This outlet is now stopped, and the water has risen and filled all these chasms made by the earthquake.

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Mahkan, March 16th.

My last letter was dated from the pretty camping-ground bearing the scriptural denomination of Meshech. Thence to Atzala was a march of thirteen miles. The road led up the valley, as upon the previous day, for about six miles, and then we had a long, but fortunately tolerably gradual, climb up the saddle of the ridge. On the right of the summit of the pass is the Amba of Waldo: it is considerably the highest peak in the neighbourhood,—isolated, four-sided, and apparently perpendicular. As far as we could see, there were no walls or artificial defences. The huts which contain the garrison are built on ledges upon the face of the rock. Ledge is hardly the proper expression; for a ledge is a projection, whereas the huts are built in deep scores which run round the face. The rock overhead completely overhangs them; so that they are to a certain extent sheltered from the wind, which would, at an elevation of 12,000 feet above the sea, be otherwise almost unbearable in such an exposed condition. Waldo himself was at the top of the pass when we went along. He is a man of about thirty-five, with a very intelligent and pleasing face. A number of his warriors attended him, and he was very much interested in our various uniforms and appointments. He chatted for some time with General Staveley, who fired-off his revolver for his edification. The articles, however, that pleased him most were telescopes and field-glasses, and he expressed a strong desire for one. He was evidently acquainted with their use, for he shut one eye and examined the country through my telescope with a nautical air which would have done no discredit to the most aspiring midshipman. The Commander-in-chief presented him with an excellent glass on the following day; and he will now from his eyrie be able to see any advancing foe in ample time to make his preparations for defence.

The descent from the top of the pass was much steeper and more severe than the ascent had been, and the train of mules was a very long time making its way to the bottom. Every animal that fell, every load which shifted, brought the whole line to a standstill. However, patience and care will effect wonders; and we got to the foot of the steep portion without a casualty among the animals.

At Attala, or Atzala, as I find it is more correctly spelt, we found the Commander-in-chief encamped with the head-quarter wing of the 33d and a small escort of Scinde Horse and the 3d Native Cavalry. The Commander-in-chief intends, I believe, in future to accompany the Pioneer Force, and to judge for himself as to the capabilities of the roads, and to direct the work to be done to make them passable by the main body. Colonel Phayre will, however, still continue a couple of days’ march ahead, with a small escort. Sir Robert Napier gets through an immense quantity of work in the course of a day; and the following order, which has been lately issued, shows that he is unable to trust the political business, such as it is, out of his own hands, but is compelled to be his own political officer, as well as his own explorer: “The Commander-in-chief directs that in future all reports forwarded for his information by officers in the intelligence department may be sent to the political secretary, through the general or other officer commanding the division or post in which they may be serving. In special cases, where a more immediate communication to his Excellency may seem expedient, reports may be sent direct; copies of them, however, being at once furnished to the officer’s immediate military superior. All instructions for the guidance of officers in the intelligence department will be sent to them by Captain Tweedie, political secretary, who must be considered as the sole officer authorised to convey to them his Excellency’s commands.”

Atzala is situated in an extensive basin, apparently surrounded upon all sides by lofty hills. The abundance which we found at Antalo still continues, and the commissariat are able to purchase grain for the animals. I found upon my arrival in camp that Sir Robert Napier intended to push on at once with the Pioneer Force, leaving Sir Charles Staveley to follow, with an interval of a day or two, to allow the road to be improved. Sir Robert has also sent back for the light guns of Twiss’s Mountain Train, and for the Naval Rocket Brigade, both of which formed part of the 2d Brigade, according to the published list. There are two explanations of this order; the one being that he finds the roads so bad that he thinks it will perhaps be impossible to bring the heavy guns of Murray’s battery on without great loss of time; the other theory is, that he is now convinced that we shall have to fight at Magdala, and wishes to arrive there with as strong a force of artillery as possible. The advices from Magdala tell us that Theodore had received exact intelligence of our whereabouts and rate of moving; and that whereas, believing us to be nearer, he had decided upon waiting at Dalanta; and he has now pushed on with the greatest energy, and arrived with his guns and convoy quite close to Magdala. This is, I think, the best news we could receive. Theodore has evidently made up his mind to await us at any rate in his fortress. He may fight, he may pretend friendship, and offer us the prisoners; but, at any rate, he will be there: whereas, if he had not been able to reach Magdala, he might have retired at our approach; and if he had ever taken to the hills, our expedition would have been almost interminable: once in Magdala, and surrounded, we are sure of him. Magdala may be, and I believe is, very strong, and may hold out for weeks; but we know that sooner or later we must have it. I believe that the guns we have will be useless, except for their moral effect upon the enemy. A shell thrown on to the summit of a rock fortress when the garrison were sheltered behind great boulders, or in caves or crevices, might alarm them, but would probably do very little harm. Our stock of missiles is very limited, and we shall probably have to take the place at last by assault. If Magdala at all approaches Waldo’s fortress in strength, an assault in the face of some thousands of determined men, commanded by a desperate chief like Theodore, will be no child’s-play even for British troops. A few stones rolled down would sweep the path of a whole line of stormers. A breastwork of great boulders rolled into position from above would baffle the bravest. People talk lightly of Magdala and its savage garrison; but if they prove true to their king, it will prove as hard a nut as British prowess ever had to crack. Officers speaking to me upon the subject have argued Magdala is probably not so strong as many of the hill-forts in India which we have in our time taken. This is no doubt true; as is the fact that the defenders of these hill-forts were as brave, and were in addition much better armed than are the garrison of Magdala. But, on the other hand, the defenders of Indian hill-forts knew what British troops were; they knew that our power was almost infinite; that we were the masters of all India; and that sooner or later we could accumulate force enough to capture even the most seemingly impregnable fortress. It was, they knew, a mere question of time with us. However physically brave, the knowledge that final over-throw is certain, will to a great extent paralyse the efforts of any body of men. The reverse of all this is the case with Theodore’s soldiers. They have never fought but to conquer; they have a fanatical persuasion of the might of their leader, and believe in his star; they have been always told that Magdala is impregnable. For their enemies they have neither fear nor reverence. The few white men they have seen have been men of peace—missionaries and such-like—living but by their sufferance, and now for years held in the degrading position of captives. Theodore has impressed them with the belief that we are a mere nation of traders, and that although we manufacture good guns, and can use them at a distance, yet that we are wanting in courage, and no match for his men in a hand-to-hand fight. Doubtless, too, he will impress upon them the fact that we cannot have brought a large stock of ammunition for our guns across this long and difficult route; and that therefore his men have only to keep quiet and let us expend our missiles, and that then our power of doing harm will be at an end. He has, too, promised that they shall divide among themselves all our treasure and spoil; and as by this time they have probably heard that we are absolutely strewing the country with dollars, their idea of our probable spoil must be something magnificent.

However, the problem of war or peace will soon be solved. At the rate at which we are now proceeding, another three weeks will see us in front of Magdala. Indeed, if we continue to press forward at the present rate, we should be at our journey’s end in a fortnight, or, rather, we should be there if the whole of the mules did not die. To-day’s march has been fifteen of the longest and heaviest miles ever traversed, with scarcely a mile of level ground the whole distance. The difficulty began at the very start, for we had at once to climb a high and steep hill, and to descend at once on the other side. So long a time did this occupy, so many were the stoppages and breakdowns, that although the first of the train started before seven, it was ten before the last of the convoy of six hundred had even commenced the ascent. The Commander-in-chief was not to start till one o’clock, and a small party of mules would leave at that time with his tent, &c. I therefore had, very fortunately as it turned out, resolved not to start my animals until the same time. After passing over the first hill, we came to another, which was the highest we had yet come to, being two hundred feet higher than the summit of the pass upon the preceding day. The ascent, although very long, was not very steep; indeed, all the hills we have crossed are much more precipitous on the southern than on the northern side. Here our difficulties commenced; for at the top of the hill were numbers of the animals who had started five hours before us. The descent was blocked up, and for ten minutes at a time everyone was brought to a stand-still. Great was the noise, tremendous the shouting in various languages. Once upon the descent of the hill, everyone kept in single file; but the confusion was greatest at the top, as everyone strove to get his own animal first upon the track. Here were Beloochees, Scinde Horse, Engineers, 33d men, and 3d Native Cavalry, all trying to insinuate the animals of which they were in charge into the straight line. Not unfrequently some unfair effort to interlope ended in well-merited punishment, by one of the mules getting jammed between others, and his load pulled back over his tail. At last we got our animals fairly on to the descent, which was very steep and winding, and then there was nothing for it but patience. With our own animals we had no trouble, for we had long ago found out that although a string of four animals goes well enough along a plain, the only way to get them down steep places, or over very rough ground, is to unfasten them, and to make a servant go to each mule’s head. In this way, if the loads are properly packed upon Otago saddles, they will go anywhere; the mules can pick their way without being hurried, and the loads will not shift; whereas the government mules, being fastened three or four in a string, under the charge of a single driver, are continually coming to grief. The leading mule steps over stones or down steep places with comparative ease, and when on level ground steps boldly forward; while the unfortunate animals behind him, who are still on the difficult ground, are unable to pick their way, their heads are pulled into the air, they hang back and vainly resist, and either lie down at once, or are pulled off their legs. The present state of the Bombay saddles assists to aggravate the evil. The leather loops which were attached to them, and through which the ropes which fastened the baggage passed, are now in a majority of cases torn off, and the consequence is, that the load at once slips forwards or backwards immediately the animal gets upon an incline, and the saddle remains on the back, while the load rolls off. The mountain-side was thickly covered with shrubs; and as we went down in a long confused line, with the baggage-guard scattered at intervals along it, most of the men being incessantly employed in repacking the loads, with their arms piled near them while they did so, one could not but reflect that we shall have to travel in a very different fashion when we approach Magdala. Two or three hundred men, armed only with spears, concealed among the bushes, and rushing out at a given signal, could have annihilated the whole convoy before a bayonet could have been fixed or the slightest resistance offered. I believe that it is settled that we shall take no tents forward with us for the last three or four days’ marches; and this, with the fact that a comparatively small number of mules will be required for the commissariat stores, will diminish our train to one-fourth of the present size. If Theodore has made up his mind to fight, there is little doubt that he will begin while we are in the passes. He has always been famous for his night-attacks, and we have been especially warned to beware of sudden attacks. The King of Tigre was very impressive on this score. Waldo, the other day, also warned us most earnestly to be upon our guard night and day. We had a turn-out of the troops this morning at Atzala. It took place at about ten in the morning, and was for a few minutes quite an exciting affair. With the exception only of Sir Charles Staveley and a few of his personal staff, no one knew whether it was a real alarm or not. We were now in the Gallas country, where we had been told to expect raids, and it was quite possible that the convoy, the rear of which was still mounting the hill, had been suddenly attacked. When, therefore, the first bugle sounded the alarm, and after a pause sounded again and again, quite a thrill ran through the camp. All the regimental bugles repeated the calls, and the camp presented the appearance of an ant-hive suddenly disturbed. The men tumbled out from their tents in hot haste, buttoning-up their tunics and buckling-up their belts; the cooks and butchers left the half-cut-up carcasses, to run to their tents for their arms and accoutrements; officers shouted for their swords; the men who were out for wood or water came scampering up; the mule-drivers rapidly drove in the animals which were grazing on the plains; the dhoolie-bearers mustered round the palkees; the grasscutters buckled on swords of various descriptions; and I observed my servant busily engaged in loading a great double-barrelled pistol. The result showed that an enemy must manage to creep up very close before being observed, to catch us unawares. In two minutes and a half from the first bugle, the 4th were drawn up in close order in front of their lines, and being joined by the Beloochees, marched off, throwing out skirmishers before them. In another five minutes the Mountain Artillery were in motion, and the 3d Native Cavalry, who had, when the alarm sounded, been in their native undress, had dressed, saddled, and were dashing across the plain. A little in rear of the infantry the dhoolie-bearers were staggering along with their palkees, and an apothecary was in full chase with an armful of splints and bandages. It is evident that we shall not be caught asleep. Alarms of this sort do good occasionally, but should not be too often repeated, or the men get so accustomed to the cry of “Wolf!” that they will not believe it when the real animal makes his appearance.

But I am leaving myself and my mules an unconscionable time upon the hill; scarcely, however, so long as I was there in reality, for it was getting dusk when I reached the foot, just three hours after my arrival at the top. There was no camp in sight, and, although we knew it was still six miles distant, we were ignorant of the direction in which it lay. Fortunately, none of the loads had shifted, and we were thus enabled to push past great numbers of animals who were standing with their loads upon the ground beside them. It was a very weary and unpleasant six-miles’ march. There was no moon, and it soon became extremely dark; and as the way was a mere track, we were quite ignorant whether we were going in the right direction or not. Of course we followed mules in front of us, but there was no knowing whether they were going right—for a mule stopping for a minute, for a readjustment of the load, would lose sight of the one in advance, and would be just as likely as not to go in the wrong direction, and inevitably be followed by all in his rear. The way was across an undulating plain, with many deep nullahs covered with trees, and so dark that we could not see our horses’ ears. There was very little shouting now; everyone rode or walked along in a sort of sulky silence; the pace was of the slowest, the mules being scarcely able to crawl along. We could not pick our way, for we could not see the ground. Some got off and led their horses, others trusted to their horses’ eyes, and it was astonishing how well the animals picked their way; still there were some awkward falls. Even if one escaped these greater dangers, it was not pleasant to be caught by a bramble suddenly between the eyes, or to be nearly borne over the crupper of the horse by a stiff bough under the chin. At last, just when we had arrived at the conclusion that we must have missed our road, and that it would be better to draw off the way and pitch our tent until daybreak, we saw the camp-lights in the distance, and, after another mile’s travelling, arrived here, as I began this letter by saying, at half-past nine o’clock.

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Ashangi Lake, March 19th.

I finished my last letter on the night of my arrival at Mahkan, very tired, very hungry, and a good deal out of temper. We halted at Mahkan on the 17th, as the animals imperatively needed a day’s rest. There can be no question that these very long marches are a mistake in every way. Many of the animals which started at seven in the morning did not get in until ten or eleven o’clock next day; and fatigue of this sort, together with an almost starvation diet, is too much for any animals. The number which actually died upon the road was very small—only three or four, I am told; but then the animals have had a rest at Antalo, and have still some little strength left. I have no hesitation, however, in saying that three or four such marches as this would find the great majority of the transport-train animals _hors de combat_. It is terribly fatiguing too for the troops. Nor is anything gained by it. The old proverb, “the more haste the less speed,” is amply verified. We did fifteen miles, and then had to halt a day; whereas had we halted at a spring at the foot of the steep descent, six miles from Mahkan, the animals could have easily marched some miles beyond Mahkan on the following day. Fifteen miles over a flat country is one thing, fifteen miles over a succession of mountains, with a rifle, sixty rounds of ammunition, and etceteras, is quite another; and I sincerely trust that we shall not again attempt such a tremendous march as this.