The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-31 00:00:00

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.

Letters from their special correspondents in Abyssinia
have been published in the morning papers. The latest
-late from the camp, near Antalo, is March 8.
The Daily News letter says : " The uniform good health
of the troops is probably the point on which we should
most congratulate ourselves in connection with the ex-
pedition ; but next to that the most cheering fact in
its history has been the abundance of the supplies
found near Antalo. Captain Shewell, who is the
chief officer of the commissariat stationed here, and
whose earlier exertions at Zoola have procured
him this post in advance, has either had extraor-
linary fortune in lighting upon an exceptionally
fertile district, or else he possesses some magnetic power
of drawing in the produce of the country, which a large
party have always maintained was considerable if we
could only discover the knack of utilising it. The opinion
that the country must be barren because hitherto our
supplies were meagre has also had its advocates, and must
doubtless have been communicated home. My individual
opinion has always been that the resources of the country
were ample for our wants, but that the task of inducing
it to flow to our camps was not without its difficul-
ties. Great quantities of bread are daily purchased ;
and 15,2001 b. of flour were bought on the sth. Grain
alone, which averages about 5,0001 b. per diem, falls
below what we would wish. The ghee obtained suffices for
our consumption, so that except in tea, sugar, rum, and
rice, the camp is not only self-supporting, but is in the
article of flour making a rapid accumulation of stores. On
the evening of the 4th there were 300,000 rations of this
last article piled up ; hence, as meat can always be ob-
tained, we have the necessaries of life for 5,000 men for
two months. In smaller points, such as onions and coffee,
the 'commissariat have also been tolerably successful in
their purchases."
The same writer furnishes the following incident :
"We are gaining some experience of Abyssinian fires, as
an average of two or three in the twenty-four put in an
appearance. Their origin is variously attributed to the
results of hostility, accident, or a wish on the part of the
farmers to clear and manure the ground, in order to facili-
tate the growth of the young grass. A few days ago the
fire alarm was sounded through camp, and a thick cloud
of smoke, rising a quarter of a mile from our lines, pointed
out the spot at which the efforts of the troops were required.
The 33rd and Artillery, the first with sticks, the latter with
their saddle covers, ran, without attempting to keep any
order, to the scene. On getting near, two thin lines of
flame, about 400 yards in length, could be distinguished :
the one to the windward of where the grass must have first
been lit, burned very feebly, and was at once got under.;
that to leeward blazed about three feet high, and fought
against its enemies for ten_ minutes, the infantry
trampling with their feet, or beating with sticks the
kindled herbage, while the gunners smothered it with
their tarpaulins, some of the regimental bheesties (water
carriers) assisting with the contents of their mussocks.
The grass covering a space of about a dozen acres was
consumed. Although the conflagration was but a small
affair, it imparted a useful little lesson, as it showed how
quickly such fires can arise, and if taken early, to use the
physicians' phrase, how easily they can be stamped out.
The herbage which caught fire, probably from the negli-
gence of a muleteer, had never been thick, and for the last
two weeks was much grazed upon. Had it been as luxu-
riant as it is in many places, and had it had another hour's
start, we could not have extinguished it although we might
have kept it off certain positions."

- .
The Post correspondent is a very frank gentleman, as
will be seen by this extract You will doubtless
eagerly look for the latest news. How am Ito give it to
you ? We live in an atmosphere of lies ! No twoaccounts
from one place ever tally in the smallest degree. The road
is good—the road is bad ; the natives are friendly—they
are quite the reverse ; provisions are abundant—there is
not a morsel of food to be had within fifty miles ; Theodore
is advancing on Magdala—Theodore is retreating to
Talanta ; the prisoners have been released—the pri-
soners have been murdered.; •Wagshum is hasten-
ing to welcome us—Wagshum has joined the forces
of the tyrant ; the war will be over in April ; the war
will last two years. These are the promising materials from
which your correspondent has to extracts his ' facts ;' and
if those facts prove erroneous he is liable to be ' hauled
over the coals' for wilful misrepresentation. Let me be
candid ; the real `fact' is that we know nothing. Theo-
dore may be close, or 150 miles off ; the remainder of our
march may be easy or impracticable ; the tribes may be
friendly, or implacably hostile, but we know nothing about
it ; it is just as well to tell the truth as to invent theories
concerning our future proceedings which have no founda-
tion."

The Herald correspondent speaks of an order issued to
the effect that the army would be compelled to go forward
without either rum, tea, or sugar:—`• Of course everyone is
prepared to make great sacrifices, and to submit to every
hardship which may be absolutely necessary. Every
reduction of kit, the dismissal of the native followers, and
the diminution of carriage, has been received not only
without a murmur, but with actual sat:iraetion by every-
one. But this order to proceed without tea, rum, or sugar
was received with the gravest dissatisfaction by men and
officers of all ranks. It was not as a matter of comfort it
was objected to, but as a matter of health. Rum is an
article difficult of carriage and can be dispensed with ;
sugar also might be done without, but tea is, upon a cam-
paign like this, an absolute necessity if the men are to
have no rum. It is not that the tea is nice, for it cer-
tainly is not; it is positively nasty. It bears
no resemblance whatever to the herb we drink in Eng-
land as tea ; at the same time it is an absolute essential.
Were the Water good the results might not have been so
disastrous, but it is almost always drawn from stagnant
pools, and is the reverse of wholesome. The privation of
their rum would, therefore, in itself be much felt among
the men. They have all been some years in India, where
rum forms part of a soldier's regular ration. They are
accustomed to its use, and no doubt would feel somewhat
its sudden privation. Had they beef' troops fresh from
England it would have mattered comparatively little.
Our adjutant-general, Colonel Thesiger, is a total ab-
Aainer. Of course his theory is that men are much
better without splrits, and the present will be a great
opportunity for testing the effects of a Maine Law. I
believe, however, that-officers and men would give up their
rum and their sugar without a murmur were tea but
allowed them ; but I am sure that bad water alone will lay
up half the troops."

The Cork Email:nu says that the example which
Limerick has set, in protesting against the continuance of
the Established Church, is about to be followed by Cork.
" Arrangements are in progress," it adds, " for holding a
;Teat aggregate meeting, which shall help to repel the
slander, already so well answered by our neighbours of the
north-west, t'hat the Catholics are contented to wear a
badge of inferiority. In a very short time we hope to
afford our readers fall particulars on this important subject.
In the meahtime it is considered expedient that an emphatic
expression of Catholic opinion regarding the Establishment
should be recorder as soon as possible, and with that view
petitions will be laid for signature in the various churches
in the cliocese.".