The Baltimore County union., 1868-03-07
IBI'SSINIgi.


known To the ancient Jews, Greeks and Roman
with ell ot whom Il carried on fTequcnt inter
eours". How continually. also. 10 we fnd men
iion made Of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian. IN the
Bible Attending eSidenrr at iis having aiiaind a
certain deerct oi civilization even ia those remote
iimts still more remarkable Is this ignorance
sincc Abyssinia 1.-THE word Is merely a corrupliou
OF the local name, =" llabish''l Is the only pro-
fessedly Christian country upon the whole Ami
can continent. The Gospel Was introduced into
I Il by FTumentous ~ early rs the year 800 A. -
We cnst aside. rs unworthy OF credit, the iradi-
iions that st. Matthew and Bartholomew preach-
cd there or that an attempt was made by the
eunuch Of Queen Candacc, whom Philip baptized
I 10 introduce Christianity among his hrctheren I;
and still more the wild superstition. yet preva-
: lent, which would assert that the Virgin Mary,
with the child Jesus himself came into the couIi-
try when they fed fiom Egypt II Is enough for
Us know that, for fully fifteen years. Ahyssiuia
has profcsscd the Christian religion, main iancd
a Christian church after the Greek model, aud
has doubtless acted up 20 the mtasure OF her
lights. naturally dim aud imperfect when We re-
fleet upon her comparative isoniion from the rest
I Of the Christian community. The Roman Ca,hu-
B lies have. Indeed. always kept up an occasional
intercourse with this outlying n0ck from Christ's
I fold. - Aihnnasius scn, nine missionaries into
! the cnuuiry aud Jesuit priests have, again and
again, found their way iuto IL. The Murayian.
grntraiious hut their efforts appear merely To
have givrn great offence to the native priesthood.
without producing any beneficial effects. Such
influences these have not been sufficient to pre-
vent the dociriues aud practice of the Abyssinian
churrh 'rom pariaking very strongly Of both a
Jewish aud Mohamnletan Observation-Disclosures Of
both these crerds having bern numerous 10 the
country from iimc iumemoral while the latter
Is the national religion of many contiguous peo-
.le.
THIS li''lt-kuown cuun'ty. into which England
has 81 a. formidable expedition consists gcnrr-
ally 80 central plateau or tahle-iand. which l.
surrounded un two side. by iuiiy mouniaius that
iis. 'r,u 'hr ltnrtl Hat which aLui. On them
aud hirh sinks gradually an two other sides
intpH low. level counify, the home oi the true
negrr TITUS plateau Is again diversified by dif-
irrebi ranges Uf mountains that rise from ou, of
H. aid Is ia parts drusrly wooded. II. climate
temperate. dry, and salubrious but On descend
ing litu the Low lands that liz contiguous TO IL,
we find. on the contrary, climate hot relaxing,
and unhealthy while between these two ex.
iremrs there ARE man, huge tracts possessing
different degrees Of salubrity. TN the whole,
we de- not anticipate that the troops will suffer
from the heat 10 the extent which IL apparently
expected by the daily press--or that a force ae-
climauzrd in India will experience much ! con-
yenrncr from heat provided always that IL
does not attempt operations before the months OF
November vi hen the prevalent malariJus inhu-
ences which aiways prevail during the autumn
months will have subsded, and the hefcehess OF
the solar rays will have considerably decreased.
l., lhr one respect only, however, does it ap-
pcai that much is 20 be gained from the Cxpili.
,iOu We refer 10 the cause of science for there
can h- NJ doubt that Ahyssinia offers n novel
hcld iO' research ia many branches oi inquiry
Its meteorological wealth Is Unly a. Yet a matter
of.lcculaiion, It's botany Is all but unknown,
and Us zoulogy has been studied only in the
most cursoty manner. We know 18th regatd 10
this last, that il Is probable that many species of
maninalia exist which are new To science and
that nost OF the usual game peculiar 10 the AZ
riean continent is 10 be met with. The lion and
the leopard are not uncommon aud there aie
several varieties Of wildcats. including the ciVit
cat, aud beautiful species known 10 natives by
tue maine Of the Nebro Guolgual. There are GER
taiuly two species OF hyenas, and two " the wild
dog Que Of these latter is OF brindled color,
having legs covered with spots These animals
hunt in packs, and are said occasionally 10
attack the elephant and the buffalo
The description OF ihrm seems to coincide
with u variety which has been found in the kar-
akorum Mountains, in Central Asia, irou which
place we believe skin was procured By Captain
Peyion OF the 18th Ilussars. The other SPECIES
found in Abyssna seems identical, or nearly so,
with the CfHss rdadtiem Of India Jackals Of
THREE different varieties are TO b. met with
The elephant sud the Buffalo common IN the
low grounds upon the March river, and in u few
OTHER places. The giraffe and rhinoecros are
found ia one portion OF Tigre, and the hippopo-
iAmus abound in the Tacazze river The ante
lope tribe, though not nearly so abundant as in
Southern Africa Is still more or lcss scattered
throughout Abyssnia. That curious bird, the
Abyssinian hornbi,l, is frequently me, with; aud
the ostrich and the bus,ard are found In the Wild
er parts Of the country. To these may be added
erOc0iies, boas, monkeys, wild-boats, hatrs,
rabbits, grouse, pariTdges, wild fowl, aud suipc
The present race Of Abyssinans certainly bear a !
striking resemblance 10 the type of people depict.
cd in the Egyptian hierOglyphics, which is gener-
ally supposed 10 be intended 10 represent tue old
Inhabitants OF Ethiopia. lfso, the race must be |
ancient, and have preserved lis purity Of blood |
for many thousand years, which would dsprove |
the general tradition that the present Abyssinians
are II mixed blood. They certainly liiIer con- l
sidcfall' 10 appearance some OF them being per- |
fccty black, though the prevailing tint Of skin |
Is Of copper color. They are generally Of mid |
die stature seldom exceeding sx feet. They are !
wtl shaped and the women decidedly good
looking. So much so, that they are in great re-
quest IN the harams Of Cairo and Constantinople,
20 which place many find their way, although fe- |
males OF the Gala tribe are often palmed Oh up
on the Egyptians for Abyssinians. With respect |
TO the capabilities ofthc Abyssnians for meeting
experience but OF course no barbarous nation /
much less an AsiAtic or African one, can contend /
against a civilized one. aided BY the appliances |
Of war. Still, for bravery and endurance the |
Abyssinians have always borae q high character |
on the African continent, aud IL Il probable that |
the material for soldiers is excellent. The caval-
~ Is numerous, aud much OF it-egpecially that /
portion recruited from the Gala iribes-is good. |
II Is chiefly armed with lanccs, Of which each /
inan carries two but We fancy that the trooper !
of Jacobs horse, with their steady discipline, 4
will make short work oft, unless greatly over
matched In poin, Of numbers. The infantry Is
chiefly armed with maichocks--large heavy and |
clumsy weapons. the loading Of which 10 the la
bor Of minutes aud which are continually miss
ing Ere. Besides these arms, they always carry
n sword and shield the former Il often two |
handed, and nearly four feet long and the lat /
ter Is generally made Of Bulialo-hlde. II appears
that Colonel MerewethOT, who 10, Il Is said, 10 /
command the cavalry portions Of our force, aud /
who has been collecting Information Of the gov.
ernment, recommends iha, the plain OF Ailai be
selected as the spot upon which 10 form camp. Il
lie appears 10 he principally guided in this selec.
iion by the fact that the immediate neighborhood
is well adapted for the action OF cavalry. We
cannOt but think, however, that u will be fatal
mistake 10 allow any considerable portion Of the
troops 10 remain longer than Is necessary on this
side Of the mountain range. The sliInaie OF Al
lat u hot aud unhhOlesome, anu tue nelgnbOfng
country ihickly wooded aud abounding, IN una
iatia Aiial itself s miserable place, consisting
Of only few scattered hnls, and is chiefly re-
tuArkaLle for possessing seine hot springs. It's
inhabitants are llcdouius OF the Bellaw elan, a
pastoral lribr ownins considerable herds Of cat.
lie
The neighborhood oi the town al kiaqnor,
which Is aboul three marches further on, aud seV.
eIal thousand fee, higher above the sea.level,
ofleFs, 10 our opinion, far more favorable
position for an iulrenched camp, should one be
considered neccssaFy for the purpose Of keeping |
open the communication with Massowah. Good 4
water wi be found here aud the climate l., com.
pafaiively speaking, Oool and healthy which Is /
the chief desideraium 10 be looked for; aud al |
though the road from Allai io Kiaquor is some.
what billy and diiiieul, onc, and delliesnt 10 |
water for a considerable way, gnce arrived Ia the
vicinity OF the latter placr, a noble sandy plain
will uller fncilifV far the tnutneut