Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1921-09-15

lions. s M IS 4.
In the bottoms Of these deep valleys.
some Of which are fairly wide, and in
other depressions, tropical conditions
prevail, so that the possible products
Of Abyssinia range from those Of the
tropics to those Of the northern tenn
perate zone. Little has been done
toward the development of agriculture
beyond Its primitive stages. The rails
ing Of cattle. sheep and goats for their
milk, flesh and skins lie the more popu-
lar pursuit.
The Abyssinian has been described
by one American Us rather an inde-
pendent, easy-living. battle-lovlng,
raw;meat-eating, sensual, devil-may.
care chap" Socially, the people are
living in feudal times. The various
reigning princes Of the provinces owe
allegiance to the emperor and must
furnish soldiers to support him in.
time of war. The land is theoretically
owned by the emperor and those who
make use Of It are his tenants. '.Jus-
tice" IL administered personally by. the
rulers and their representatives. When
person is accused Of q crime the
first step is to confiscate his property.
Decision as to his innocence or guilt
can follow in due time. Because prop,
erty has been unsafe for q long period
people Of wealth have buried what
they could for safe keeping. Vast
quantities of gold, silver and ivory
are believed to lie underground ut the
present time, the latter. Of course. de.
teriorating.
Good Roads Are searcs.
One great drawback to the CONNER.
cial development Of AbyssInia has,
been the lack OF roads leading up to
the high plateau and over Its surface.
The routes Of travel which have been
used for more than a thousand years
are mere trails, and the burdens have
been carried on mule and camel back
since the days Of the great Queen Of
Sheba, who. the traditions of the
Abyssinians say, was the queen Of
Ethiopia. The royal line claims de.
scent from her and Solomon. Some
years ago the French began construct
ing a. railroad from their port Of
Jibuti. Just below ! the mouth Of the
Red sea, toward Abyssinia. The
Abyssinians permitted this to be ex-
tended into their country and In 1917
Eit reached Ads Abeba, the capital.
Over this road q large part Of the
hides. coffee, beeswax and ivory. which
constitute the chief exports OF the em-
spire, are shippe B U.s.. &
h Specialists In various fields who
have visited the country believe that
this % but smallS part of the prod
:ucts that could be shipped to the
world, and that the. people are enjoy
ing but actton sof the prosperity
that they might enjoy Il they deyel-
oped their resources along modern
lines. Il IA.
AS the only African people which
has been able to maintain It's indie.
pendence In modern times In war
with 4 European power, the Abys-
sInians have become rather conceited
ana are inclined not to recognize the
superiority even of Western civiiiza-
tion and culture. Their victory was
won over the Italians 81 1895 at the
battle Of Adow& where the pick Of the
Italian army was scut to pieces. The
Abyssinians have bought large quanti-
ties sof modern rifles g recent years
and could probably put In the field IN
case of war m army Of go. 600 we'll
equipped soldiers, large part Of
them Mounted. ss -