Lieutenant-Colonel Graves left at Massowah to guard the rear and hold the base of communications—The baggage lightened to meet the lack of transportation—Breaking up camp—Adventures on the march—The lion of Abyssinia, and the way he is hunted—Arrival at Addi-Rasso—An Abyssinian paradise—Another reorganization of the baggage train—Colonel Dye's assault on Ibrahim Lutfy Effendi—Colonel Dye, summoned before a court-martial, resigns.

ON arriving at Massowah, the absolute necessity for an experienced naval officer was apparent, to regulate the transport ships, arrange for the movement of troops and supplies from them, and to have a general superintendence of the bay and town. Above all, it was important to leave in our rear not only an accomplished sailor, but a military commander of determination and character. Fortunately, Colonel Charles I. Graves was ordered for duty, and throughout our trying services aided us by his good judgment. Subsequently the colonel was engaged in scientific duties in Egypt, and was selected by the Khedive for the important duty of exploring the coast of the Sumali Mijjertain, bordering the gulf of Aden and the islands adjacent, and of selecting a site for a lighthouse for the safety of the commerce of the world arriving from the Indian Ocean and entering through the gulf into the Red Sea. The Khedive had been long anxious to secure an officer of the highest scientific skill to fill the place, as it was necessary to study the country bordering the sea, and to determine the force of winds and currents, of which little was known. It was a work of great labor, and its completion met with appreciation by the Egyptian Government. Colonel Graves's reconnoissance and reports were published by the scientific periodicals of the world as an interesting addition to science. The duty accomplished, to mark the service the Khedive conferred upon the colonel a high decoration of the Order of the Medjideh. Upon being discharged at his own request he was invited to remain, and leaving Alexandria was offered a high position in the Soudan.

When the army was ready to move, the Prince Hassan was persuaded to leave behind a gorgeous tent of varied colors and many other accessories of luxurious campaigning which would have employed a great amount of transportation on the journey over the mountains. Amid the confusion incident to the setting out of a motley crowd on a campaign, Ratib issued a general order for his movement. The minutest details of this order were studied and explained, so that errors of translation, of which there had been complaints on former occasions, could not be offered as an excuse for its violation. On the morning of departure, as was to be expected, there was a great deal of confusion, and a general scrambling for camels and mules followed. In justice to Prince Hassan on this occasion it is due to say that though a large number of the animals intended for others were appropriated for his enormous outfit, as soon as the fact came to his knowledge, too late to do much good, he protested against it. It was the fault of Ratib, the royalty of the prince being uppermost in his mind, as well as his regard for his own appetite, and it mattered not who else was inconvenienced. The scene was animated and picturesque. Vast crates of crockery, boxes of wine and delicacies of all kinds, enormous tables, and pots and kettles with a huge iron stove, were piled upon the backs of camels and mules. I had seen stampedes of animals in the Rocky Mountains and other scenes of the olden day in breaking up camps, but this scene beggared all description. As the train wound its way along the narrow causeway, one could see mules kicking off their loads and camels running off, scattering the valuable property of the prince and lessening, amid the crash of wine-bottles and crockery, the chances of Ratib for a good dinner. The amusement accompanying this Eastern fashion of making war would have made an anchoret laugh, and it was impossible to feel indignant at seeing our transportation disappearing in the distance. I forgave Ratib his folly, in consideration of the comedy he had unwittingly provided. The tumult being over and our enterprising quartermaster, Major Loshe, having other animals, we got them at a late hour and reached our encampment at daylight next morning at Yangoos, a small village where Colonel Mökln had sunk several pumps to afford water for the troops and animals. Our ride during the night was very dark and dismal, and the rain made it specially unpleasant. Climbing disintegrating hills and rubbing against the sharp thorns of the stumpy mimosas, which were abundant, was more exciting than pleasurable. The mimosa often attains the height of ten or twenty feet, and resembles the mesquite which fringes the Rio Grande in Texas. It has a leaf and wood like the Acacia Farnesia which grows so abundantly in Egypt and Florida, but is without its small yellow blossom of delicious perfume. The aloe-plant grows here, as it does throughout Abyssinia, to a great size, and is very beautiful, as it shoots upward in a slender stalk ornamented with saffron-colored, bell-shaped flowers, and surrounded by its thick, dark-green, sharp-pointed leaves.

But we are still on our tired animals, who are munching dried grass and vegetation as they pick their way, uncertain of their footing in the extreme darkness, through the long bed of a dry river overhung by the tamarisk and mimosa. It will be said that our setting out upon the campaign was not quite such a gala scene as the departure of the prince with his man Ratib in the morning. The only breaks in the monotony of this ride were caused by the cries of the jackal and the scream of the hyena, whetting their teeth for their future repast on dead man and beast. Now and then the roaring of the lion echoed as we neared Yangoos ; for this was his watering-place, and an interruption by the invader made him ferocious. There was at Yangoos a horse upon which an Arab had once been seated when a lion sprang upon him. I saw where the beast had struck his huge claws and dragged the flesh from the hind-quarters of the animal, upon the very road we had just travelled. Our guide, a Shoho, with his top wool and smell of rancid butter, armed with lance, shield, shotgun, two pistols, and a club, like a veritable man of war, was equal to the arsenal, and of course, though myself unarmed, I felt safe under his escort. Arriving at the valley of Ambatikum, which is frequented by the Shohos during the rainy season to raise teff and doura and pasture the cattle of Abyssinians who live farther in the mountains, the prince, who was riding with me, stalked two wild boars, but they trotted off unharmed, though numerous shots were fired at them. General Field, on our return, killed one near here of good size and of delicate flesh. Reaching Bahr Rezza after six hours' marching we camped upon a rivulet, the banks of which were rich with vegetation and grasses. The change from the desert and burning region of the coast, where there was neither tree nor shrub, to a height of several hundred feet and a cooler atmosphere proved refreshing to the spirits of every one. From neglect of sanitary precautions by the Arab commanders, however, this camp became a cesspool. Abbé Duflot says that in the late spring and early in the summer, by the double effect of water and heat, there is great abundance of vegetation, and it is one of the unhealthiest regions of Abyssinia. For that reason no inhabitant lives permanently in the valley. Here was placed a depot, which was fortified so as to guard it and the trail leading to a place called Guinda.

We had been in a region since leaving the coast which is a paradise for the larger wild animals, particularly the lion, which grows here to a great size. The lion of Abyssinia is said to have a fondness for human flesh, particularly after he has once tasted it. All agree that he does not hesitate to spring, as in the case already related, upon any solitary traveller. The former consul of France at Massowah tells of his pursuit of a lion in company with a number of the people of the village in which he happened to be at the time. One of these monsters in company with his mate (for they always go in couples) had seized a woman near the village, and throwing her on his back, as is the animal's habit, made for his lair. When the pursuers overtook him he dropped the mangled body of the woman and escaped. The leopard of Abyssinia is said to attack man when asleep. One of the escort of a noted traveller, not long before our arrival, had been killed and partly eaten, as was supposed, by a lion ; but as the body was found upon the very place where the man had evidently slept, the Abyssinians decided that it was a leopard that had done the deed, it being the habit of this beast to devour its prey on the spot.

The Abyssinian, as a rule, passes the lion without disturbing him, and this respect is reciprocated ; but the lion will always fight if pursued. There is no reason why this animal should make war upon man in this country, for nowhere in the world is there such an abundance of game suited to his taste and easy of capture. The Abyssinians do not, as a rule, use firearms, but hunt big game, such as the elephant and lion, with their enormous scythe-shaped swords well sharpened. By nature a wonderfully brave people, two of them will attack a lion. One will get before him some short distance beyond his spring and draw his attention, keeping his eye steadily upon that of his antagonist glaring at him. The huge cat advances slowly to the regular distance before the final leap, and as he never watches more than one object at a time, which instinct tells him is soon to be in his grasp, he does not notice the swift progress of another enemy in his rear, who with noiseless step is rapidly coming upon him with uplifted sword. The scene now becomes exciting. The lion is about to gather for the spring, when the well-poised sword comes down unerring in its stroke upon his hind legs, severing his hamstrings, and the “ king of beasts” finishes his attack by dragging his hind legs in a last desperate effort to get at his enemy. Failing to reach him, he rolls over with a roar of agony, when the conquerors quickly give the coup de grâce. The killing of a lion is considered one of the greatest acts of courage and skill, and when an Abyssinian comes out alive from the terrible encounter he is honored by the king and receives a public ovation as he struts about wearing the skin as a trophy of his prowess. The refreshing stories told of the lion and leopard had the effect of keeping our men in camp and on the march from straggling, so that few deserters dared take the back track. Subsequently upon this road we saw innumerable very tame guinea-fowls, quails, pinnated grouse, partridges, and hares, while the beautiful gazelles bounded in great numbers on both sides of our trail. On the next march we commenced ascending an elevated country and passed through thick mimosa and tamarisk trees filled with beautiful birds, among which was the small red and green parrot. The small animals had fled before the strange invasion, but the fanciful and inquisitive little monkey and the whiskered, dog-faced baboon stood their ground, now and then showing their teeth and chattering with fear. The Arabs were delighted with all this change of country, of birds, and of animals.

We reorganized our transportation, for the prince, who by this time had learned that the road was strewed with his useless baggage, began to realize that it was best for royalty to travel with fewer encumbrances, and that he was not in the palace of Gezeerah at Cairo. Still ascending, we climbed the mountains of Bemba, 4500 feet high, the name meaning “ baby” in Arabic. The Arabs had their joke over this mountain, for they declared that Bemba was the biggest baby that they had ever seen, when toiling up and over its tortuous and winding trail, among rocks and dense timber. The Arab is essentially a religious animal, though the common people can give you no idea of what their religion is. If you ask an Arab, he will say, “ God is great, and Mahomet is His prophet,” and there his creed ends. The thought uppermost in his mind is of Allah (God). As he walks along or carries a load he says, “ Allah.” In every affair in life the name is in his mind, and he believes he is benefited when he mentions it. On the morning on which we left this camp my “ syce,” who handled my horses, kept me waiting ; upon hunting him up, I found him at some distance, numbed by the unaccustomed cold, and when I roused him suddenly, he cried “ Allah” with the greatest earnestness, thinking the Abyssinians were upon him, and that his final doom had come. No one saw or heard this in the dark, and I tell it as an illustration of this peculiarity in their character. These Arabs retaining their primitive manner of thought, like that of the Old Testament people, their simple minds fully believe in a special divine interference ; Allah gives them money, and Allah takes it from them ; nothing happens that Allah has not specially arranged.

A toilsome march over rocky hills brought us to Addi Rasso, where we were delighted to find limpid water, a rich vegetation, and beautiful shady trees. The rocky cliffs were so different from the flat lands of the Delta in Egypt that the Egyptians expressed their conviction that “ Allah was great” to have made such wondrous things. But suddenly coming upon the nodding date-trees, growing wild here, their enchantment knew no bounds ; they showed their pleasure by hugging and kissing them, reminded thus of home and their poor miserable huts and families. No man has a greater attachment for his humble home with all the trials incident to this domestic devotion. Though living under a despotic government, with its tyranny, he prefers it to all others, because he is taught to believe it to be the mainspring of his peculiar faith. He loves to sit in the door of his hut after his toil is over, and drink his coffee and smoke his pipe and declare that “ God is great, and Mahomet is his prophet.” This is his highest idea of human happiness.

Abbé Duflot says that tradition makes this spot the boundary line of the Saracenic invasion, and that the planting of these trees is the only vestige left to mark the course of the invader. The weakness of transportation again caused the road to be strewed with the property of the command, and there was another lessening of baggage and reorganization of transportation. To secure this depot a fortification was ordered for two companies and two guns. No thought was given to trails. This made little difference, as the Abyssinians travelled without encumbrance, taking always the shortest cut and crossing mountains at pleasure. While I was engaged in conversation, an hour before day, with the commanding general at his tent, about the march for that day, an Arab officer came to him to say that Colonel Dye was violently assaulting Ibrahim Lutfy Effendi. The general requested me to go at once to the scene of action. I hastened, but did not get there until after the difficulty was ended. Colonel Dye complained of Lutfy's having that day disobeyed some order, and, I believe, of having left a valuable box upon the road. The Effendi protested that he had done all that had been ordered, and that he had been suddenly struck without cause or provocation. As this affair subsequently caused some difficulty, and as the story became known in many versions, I sent a letter to Egypt since coming to America, and received the following statement from an officer high in authority (chief of staff), who could best give an accurate account of the matter :

“ Ibrahim Lutfy Effendi on his return from Abyssinia, or rather a considerable time after his return, probably urged to it by some high Turkish official, made a complaint against Colonel Dye for striking him, and demanded justice. Hassan Pacha, Minister of War, ordered a court-martial to try the case, placing the court under the presidency of Koozroo Pacha, and naming as members two Americans, Colonels Colston and Field. I tried first to have the matter settled amicably, but failed utterly. Colonel Dye, on assembling of the court, did not appear. I had not in any manner been consulted on the subject by the minister, but seeing trouble and scandal ahead for the army, went to Cherif Pacha and to Prince Hassan. The latter was very angry about the matter, bitter against Colonel Dye, and evidently a little against me for what I had said on the subject to Effaltoon Pacha. After a long conversation he asked me what I would be satisfied with in the matter of the court, adding that he was determined to have the case tried. I then told him that the court ought to have only the power of a court of inquiry, and that the chances of the two officers should be made more equal. That as it stood, Lutfy could make himself understood by all the members of the court in their own languages, while all that the other could say would have to be translated to more than half the court. He then consented to Effaltoon Pacha being on the court, as he understood both English and Arabic. In the mean time Colonel Dye went to Mr. Farman and claimed protection of the consul-general ; so it was arranged that Colonel Dye should resign his commission, and the proceedings of the court cease. Colonel Dye never appeared before the court ; thus the case was never tried. Yet Colonel Dye received the same pay and indemnity that he would have had he been discharged, and the government gave him £1000 on account of the wound he had received in Abyssinia. This ended Colonel Dye's service in Egypt.”

Part II, Chapter VIII

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