The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-09-09

one Of the worlds earliest civlllza-
tons. :
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 o II 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 is the more popu-
lar pursuit.
The Abyssinian has been described
by one American as rather an indie
pendent, easy-living, battlc-loving.
demonstrating, sensual, devil-may-
care chap" Socially, the people are
living In feudal times. The various
reigning princes Of the provinces w
allegiance to the emperor and must
furnish soldiers to support him in
time Of war. The land is theoretically
owned by he emperor and those who
make use OF 1t are his tenants. Jus
tice" is administered personally by the
rulers and their representatives. When
Il person Is accused of a crime n
first step is to cOnfiscate his property.
Decision rs to his innocence or guilt
can follow I'm due time. Because prop
erty has been unsafe for a 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 at h
present time, the latter, OF course, de-
teriorating.
Good Roads Are Scarce.
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 II 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 or
Ethiopia. The royal line claims de-
scent from her and Solomon. Some
years ago the French began construct
ing Il railroad from their port or
Jibuti, just below the mouth Of the
Red sea, toward Abyssinia. The
Ab~yssinians permitted this to be ex-
tended into their country and in 1917
it reached Ads Abeba, the capital.
over this road a large part of the
hides, coffee, beeswaX and ivory, which
constitute the chief exports Of the EN-
pire, are shipped.
Specialists in various fields who
have visited the country believe that
this is but a small part of the prod
ucts that could be shipped to the
world, and that the people are enjoy
ing but a fraction of the prosperity
that they might enjoy If they devel-
oped their resources along modern
lines.
AS the only African people which
has been able to maintain its indie
pendence in modern times In a war
with a European power, the Abys-
sinians have become rather cOnceited
and are inclined not to recognize the
superiority even Of Western civiliZa-
ton and culture. Their victory was
won over the Italians in 1896 at the
battle Of AdOwa where the pick of the
Italian army was cut to pieces. The
Abyssinians have bought large quaint
ties Of modern rifles in recent years
and could probably put In the field in
case Of war an army of 100000 we'll
equipped soldiers, Il large part Of
them mounted.