New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-02-16

N1Nffn{, 80 fhAt H4 ~ clfgfH4, felt nothin ( al
all. He ilaaed lit&le pale when The
wheels began whiFring ronad, but evinced
no other Signs Of fear. then pronounced
him innocent. The Hnclet who bad at FIRST
exhibited considerable aneasiness, plucked
up courage On seeing that this mysterious
affair bad no effect npcn his SON; and taking
the conductors into his hands with an air, Of
nfavado, assured the company that as little
as he hadssiplen the money az little was he
afraid Of this " sahatpiaonr ''--@ hereto
watch as be called It. Il began 70 turn
the handle, still interrupting the current
till | had got IL up TO full speed, and then
turned the whole ioTce OF the powerful
machine on to him. The contortions the
poor wretch was Immediately thrown into,
the conVulsiOns In his arms, the iivid pa1ior
OF fear and agony, and the shrieks and
| yells he gave uttefance TO were something
horrible 10 behold, and communicated no
small portion Of fright 10 the whole audi
| enee. ~
Aman, aman he shrieked. T. have
stolen the money For the sake Of thy
asher's soul, Oh effendi, have mercyl
Aman aman y (Grace, grace .
10 silent dignity / resumed my place.
amid the hum Of wonder from the multi
| tude. Most amusing was it also to observe
\ how the Sheikh himself shrauk from too
close proximity to the wonderful machine,
| evidently fearingit might draw out some of
| his own little pr0peusities.
i This episode vested me with no little
I Importance in the eyes of the Inhabitants
/ OF Matamma, so that in spite of the benz
nimmer 1 was easily enabled to procure
| guides to Wochnee, The first town Of any
| importance in Abyssinia proper.
/ Leaving the Djebel Matbara on the right
we Left Matamma, and after a ride Of about
ten miles arrived at the banks OF the Goang,
along the left side of which the regular
caravan route was laid. The country was
| very beautiful, intersected with wild for
ests, and mountains or ravines almost
totally uninhabited by any human being.
The whole Of the first day we trayersed
these dense forests, whose thick foliage
prevented even the glowing rays Of an
African sun from penetrating TO their dark
sombre recesses, the homes Of innumerable
beasts of prey, where the silence was only
broken by the roar Of lions, the wailing
cry Of jackals and hyenas, and the crashing
otbuffalos through the entangled brushwood
and jungle canes. Our first halting-place
| was at Birdaka, miserable place; and glad
\ was to exchange their native filth for the
/ AA11n WIZ uuN buc hct1~NAut bkdIIN
| skies for q canopy. Defines we started
next morning, for hoped to be able to reach
| Wo6hnee on the afternoon of the third day
Unfortunately for my plan, however, my
/ guides had taken quantity Of meressa, a
kind of hydrsmel, with them, which they
/ prepare from honey or the Juice or sap Of
various trees, chiefly of the palm aud which
is of q most intoxicating nature. The sec
ond evening after our departure having
shot gazelle they made a night of it, i'm
billing such quantity of this beverage
that, instead of being in the Wilds of Abys-
sinia, l fancied myself transported to the
woods and groves of Mount Olympus, or
assisting at the baochanalian orgies of
| Silenus and his crew. But when the meressa
came to an end, and haschiseh was the order
/ Of the day, the depth to which heated and
I depraved Imagination lowered these human
beings far below the level of brute, sur
passes all conception. Haschisch is a mix
ture of opium, canthsrides, honey, and nut
| -four, combined with some other herbs,
| which would seem to c0unteract the SOM
1 nolency induced by the opium. The effect
| Of this composition upon the human frame
| is NEST disastrous, though it varies with
different constitutions, generally bringing
I out the chief animal characteristic of the
( msn--either his love of blood or of sem
sual excuses. In consequence Of these
orgies at various times, it took us fourteen
days to arrive at Wochnee, not more than
three days being necessary.
1 Wocknee Hes on the banks Of tributary
Of the Goang named the Gellerat, at the
foot Of the Matschalla mountains, and sur
rounded by dense forests. It is the chief
market OF Western Abyssinia, where the
Bedouins of the Soudan bring their horses,
and the southern tribes Of the Gallas and
Tigreans' gold dust, ivory, and ebony in.
exchange for various other products. A
| considerable quantity of salt is brought
1 from Chartoum, there being very little or
none is the dominions Of the Negus, where
II u alSol used as y currency, though not
10 Sse-teiitn of the extent asserted by some.
| When Ras Yakoob the head Of the viii
lage, heard Of my arrival he Immediately
dispatched four sOldieIs 10 summon me
TO his presence, against which there was
no possibility of appeal, fCr I spoke no
Abyssinian, and they no Arabic.
| Uahered to the great mans presence he
very coolly informed me that first of all |
had had no business to come to Abyssinia,
and secondly, once there might consider
myself lucky in remaining there in posses
siol ofmy arms and legs aI for ever re-
turning that was cut Of the question, and
he would have to fulfill bis duty by taking
meas a present to King FheoG0re at ence.
If our Regus has imprisoned your con-
sui himself, how much more must yeu, who
are merely subject OF this consul, be con-
fined during his msjesty's pieasnFss;i
1 was therefore TO consider myself cap
tive, and he himself would accompany me
| 10 C4Ondkr the next dav with which
piece OF intelligence hut and guard were
allotted to me. soon went % sleep, al
though not very sure whether should
wake up with my head still on my shoul-
ders or not.
The next morning, however, fouitd my
self still anatomicalty unchanged, and pre-
pared for anything. Ras Yakoob had
donHed his bravo aocourements, and in
forming me that escape was out Of the
question, drawing my attention to the long
lances and guns ofmy guards, four in NUM-
Der, ordered my horse to be attached 10
that of gigantic negro from the soudan.
Thus The oortege started. Shortly after
leaving Weehnee we crossed the river
Vallachat, aud skirt;ag the mountain sides
followed It's course to small place named
Woggara, not 10 be cOntoundea witha Wis
lage Of the same name in the province of
Dembea. TIE country consisted of
wooded mountains lying in short parable
chains from east TO west slightly inclined
to the north, aud forming the watershed OF
thsyariOus sources and tributaries Of the
Gbang. The height Of these mountains
varied iE5m 2000to 5000 feet, the highest
parts benny generally the two ends. The I
FAole country Is yeyy similar in character