The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1924-01-18
Pitaonan Yfrau, Chief Of the Abysinian Imperial Guards.

because If a slave happens to be given
to a resident of the country, there is
no known method by which he may be
emancipated. If he is set free he Is
subject to capture and enslavement by
someone else.
Slavery Is Flourishing.
In fact, SO many Of the people Of the
outlying districts have been captured.
chained together and taken in droves
into the great slave market at Jimma,
after mile, day after day, through a
once flourlshing agricultural district
without seeing a man, oma or child.
Slaves are mainly captured from
among the subject races In territory
bordering on Egypt which was con
quered by the famous King Menelik
and his predecessor. Hundreds OF viii
lagos Of ~Shangallas, as this strongly
negroid type is called, have been emp
tied by the slave traders. SO COM
plete has been the reduction Of this
territory that certain traders, accord
Ills ~ 4 I iioi
the dark continent, went into British
territory on their man hunts.
Although practically every map to
be found will show the name Abyssinia
in strong 'black-faced type across a
large section Of northeast Africa, off,
cially there is no such district and no
such nation. The word Abyssinia
means mixed" and was applied
to the heterogeneous population
Of this plateau by the Ara
bians. In all state documents Atvs-
sinia is called Ethiopia and the natives
bans is relatively true, some authori-
ties est ting that the true Abys-
sinian Christmas number only 3,OOO,-
600, l""s than One-third Of the total
population. There are a large number
Of tribesmen called SOmals and Gallas,
most Of whom are Mostems. There
are also many Falashas. said to be
Jews. The S%hangallas, most negroid
Of all the tribes, are pagans. The
Abyssinians compose the Office-hOlding
and dominant population. They sub
scribe to the Coptic Christian church.
whose Rome is ancient Cairo on the
Nile.
Raw Meat a Delicacy.
Old-time circuseS were never COM
plete without q side show barker who
shouted out an introduction to "Bosco,
the dog-faced boyle eats raw-w-w
meat-just inside the tent" To the
Anglo-Saxon mind eating raw meat Is
only worse than eating horse-fiesh or
cat-flesh. Not so to the Abysslnian.
Raw meat is a treat to nina dellcacy
TO be INDUCED On feast days.
Other customs of the country are
equally strange and some equally un-
lovely from the point Of view of CIV
iliZed nations. In one section Ii Is
fashionable 70: wOmen To pierce their
ear lobes ano insert blocks, gradually
charging the opening to as great a di-
ameter as the lobe can be stretched.
They do the same thing to their lower
lip. Abyssinians pay but little attention
10 New Testament injunctions. Instead
they follow the old Mosaic law Of an
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
1t is not uncommon TO amputate Q
hand or q foot Of a detected thief.
Airplanes and epidemics are regard
ed as evils of the same magnitude by
the native minister OF war. Smoking
is practically nonexistent. one king
having rather successfully enforced
the prohibition law by cutting off the
lips of those caught using the weed.
Bars Of salt and cartridges are the
currency of the Abyssinians, salt be.
ing regarded as very precious. The
natives say Of the spendthrift. HE
eats salt" CuriOusly enough, they
have a practice that Is modern with
civilization, the taking Of finger prints.
Very few natives can read or write, so
q shipper will have the bill of goods
for a caravan prepared for him and
sign 1t, not with an x but with his
finger print.