The Ely miner., 1930-05-23

Every little village has its chief,
or shum, and around him are his re-
tainers. When he travels or appears
in public they tag at his heels, and
when he is at home they lie about
his courtyard like so many hunting
dogs, waiting to be called. If he is
big chief, they may number hun
dreds or. on special occasions, thou
sands; if he is of minor Importance,
they may be only two or three; but
every one who can muster as much
as one small boy to act as his attend
ant will take great pains to do so.
In addition to serfdom. slavery has
existed for hundreds of years, and, al
though the present government is
making a sincere effort to mitigate
and diminish it, there is little hope
that it can soon be entirely abolished.
Long before our European ancestors
had heard Of Jesus of Nazareth,
Ethiopians were devout Christians,
and Christians they have remained to
this day. They are Christians of the
Coptic, or Monophysite, branch, which
originated in Egypt and is supposed
TO have reached Ethiopia early in the
Fourth century. The priesthood is
very numerous and very powerful and
numbers nearly one-fourth of the male
population.
Until recently Ethiopia has been
difficult of access, both physically
and politically. Foreigners have not
always been welcome, and even some
of those who were officially well re-
ceived have been killed while travel
ing in outlying parts. During the
World war, however, railroad was
completed from Jibuti, in French
Somaliland, to Adds Ababa, the cap
ital, which is in the heart of the coun-
try.
Ras Taffari and his court in Adds
Ababa are mixture of the old and
new. Outside the capital city there
is nothing modern and the customs OF
the people have not changed for CEN
turies.
Much Beautiful Scenery.
Much Of the country is beautiful
beyond description. Mountains and
valleys, forests and meadows, lakes
and rivers, deep-cut gorges and sheer
walled canyons, all combine to furnish
such a variety of natural conditions
as is rarely to be found.
Although large part of the coun-
try is thickly inhabited, the people
live in small, round, grass-thatched
huts, known as tukuls, which are
built in small clusters on the tops of
knolls or so nestled into the sides of
the hills that they seem always to
have been there. Since there are no
fences or roads, no telegraph lines,
and no wheeled vehicles Of any kind,
the appearance of smiling virgin ma
ture is everywhere maintained.
An expedition of scientists recently
spent seven months travelling in
Ethiopia. They covered nearly two
thousand miles of territory and made
nearly two hundred camps. There was
scarcely one of these that did not
provide an attractive setting and all
practical requirements-level ground
for the tents, water and forage for
the mules, shade, firewood, and oppor-
tunity to collect specimens of man.
mails and birds.
Ethiopia offers as delightful condi-
tions for outdoor life as can be found
anywhere in the world. In the dry
season, there is practically no dam
ger of fever, and insect pests, with
the exception of fleas in the settle
ments, offer little or no annoyance.
In the Hawash valley the traveller
has an introduction to the African
fauna. Bird life is abundant; there
are crocodies in the river, and trcsps
of small gray guenon monkeys scam
per through the trees.
The Mountain Nyala.
A most interesting Ethiopian anil
NAL is the mountain nyala, one Of the
largest and handsomest of African
antelopes and one of the rarest. 1t
is also called giant bushbuck, and on
account of its strictly Ethiopian dis
tribution and its great beauty the sug-
gestion has been made that it be re-
christened Queen of Sheba's ante
lope."
Like its relative, the ordinary bush
buck, it skulks and is given to lying
in close cOncealment Considering its
size, its ability to hide in relatively
open country is remarkable.
Fortunately for the hunter, the
nyala does at times appear in the
open on high ridges or at the edges of
mountain glades. In such places he
presents a magnificent sight.
The natives met in southern Ethi-
opia are mainly Gallas, belonging to
the most important of the socalled
subject tribes. There are various
branches of them, some of which
have extended into the central and
even the northern part of the coun-
try. and have become so powerful and
so numerous they may almost be re-
garded as assimiiated. They are
probably Of Hainitic origin and are
lighter in color than the old ETH
opi;:ns. Although mostly pagan. some
have embraced Christianity, while 9th
ers. especially in the southeast, ar.
\ H. Inn