Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01

power and authority Of the King. Only
800 Of Taffari's men were killed. It was
an overwhelming victory.
After the first swift attack Of the
warriors of the sky and the resulting
CONSERVATION in the rebel ranks, the
planes landed in an adjoining field. Me-
chanics leaped out, and, in accordance
with ancient AbysSinian custom, dis
membered Ras Guksa's body. The head
was brought to Malilet, and again the
war birds took to the air.
On that eventful morning Adds
Ababa was quietly celebrating q religi-
Gus festival in the Church of st. George.
The mobiles, who proudly trace their
lineage directly to King Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba, had gone early to
church, surrounded by their retinueS.
Services over. they had set out in the
rain for the palace of the Empress, for
there was uneasineSs in the air and
the hint Of important news. Suddenly
rumor ran through the city like an
electric shock, becoming more garbled
and contradictory as it spread. And
then the cannon before the palace Of
the Empress doomed IL times.
In this land, living as it does in the
Middle Ages, every male able to bear
arms Il a soldier of the King or Of
some powerful baron. So, with the
lannon's boom, every male in Adds
Ababa grabbed his gun, his spear or his
sword and ran to the palace of the
King. Contradictory reports few about
the rebels had reached the city, the
Empress had been murdered, the King
had gone to her palace to imprison her
as the chief agent Of the revolutionary
party.
Women and Children Hide in Homes.
Women and children disappeared
from the streets and shut themselves
up in their straw-thatched "tukuls."
Shops were hurriedlv closed and peas
ants from the country who had brought
their produce to market fled to cover
or joined the palace-bound throngs,
leaving their belongings behind them.
Looting commenced in the bazaarS and
the iron gates of the legations and the
homes of foreigners banged shut.
The rocky uneven streets of the RAM
bling capital became packed with mill
ing, shouting crowds of barefooted fig
ureS clad in white "shammaS," resem-
bling Roman togaS, and armed with
every conceivable weapon from curved
Scimitar and rhinocerous hide shield to
the most modern of army repeating
rifles. Great and petty chieftains in
brilliant garments and on gayly ca
pariSone mules raced to the great space
before the palace with their retainers.
There the news spread among the
excited mob that the Kings aviators
had drenched the battlefield of Zebra
zebit with DEATH that the rebel chief
tain, Ras Guksa, general of the first
line" had been killed. Then came an
other report The "feranji" (foreign)
aviator was bringing the head of the
revolutionary leader to the capital in
his airplane.
The crowd in its thousands rushed
headlong to the race course, which also
serves as the capitals airport. His
majesty King Taffari left his palace
in his big green automobile and headed
toward the field, the Shrieking siren
opening up . wide path for his pas
sage. Behind him, but soon outdis-
tanced, battered his bodyguard. leading
his cloth of gold bedecked mule and
bearing his guns, his sword. his scepter
and his buckler in their brilliant velvet
castings.
| A plane was circling overhead and
gracefully maneuvering to a landing.
Andre Maillet stepped out and was led
over to where the King had mounted
a hastily erected dais of rich carpets
and silken hangings in front of the
makeshift hangers. Under a red silk
parasol hung with gold fringe Maillet
(ContinuiSl on Fourth Page.)