The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-08-15

washington. D. C.-wNU service.
II THIOPIA, a familiar name in
- the headlines these days,
L. boasts a long and imposing
history. The kings of this an
cient empire are traced from ORR Of
AIS B. c. TO Halle Selassie the First
of A. D. l935-with time out, natural
", from the date of the Deluge until
the fall of the Tower of Babel Ac-
cording TO tradition the queen Of
Sheba was an Ethiopian. She may
possibly have lived in what we now
call Ethiopia. and certainly she in
Guided ii in her extended domain.
Modern Ethiopia includes more than
$4,000 square miles of the rich and
productive northeastern African pla-
teau. It is mainly a mountainous re-
giOn. much broken by deep valleys
Arid. semi-desert country surrounds it
on every side. 1t does not touch the
sea, although some Ethiopian feudal
chieftains like TO grasp a marine tel
escope as they pose for formal pho
UOgraph.
IL A-Ac BbNL--1AAb- "a - BS---N~ -
100000 Christians of the true Eth
Opian Misunderstanding type. They are
the inheritOrs of an ancient ciyiliZa-
ton under whose feudal form of gov
eminent are estimated TO be 100000
MOslems and pagans. The latter are
mainly negroes.
The country is surrounded by Afri-
can colonial possessions Of Great
Britain, France and Italy. As the Eth
Opia of SOIOmOn's time, ii probably in
cluded all Of these adjacent territories,
with an Egyptian frontier, and that
part of southwestern Arabia known
today as the Yemen and Hadhramaut.
There is in Ethiopia a very evident
mixture Of Asia and Africa. Some Of
the blood came from ancient Pales-
tine, some from Arabia, and some from
the shores of the Caspian. Authorities
do not agree as TO the elements in
this African melting pot Of races. But
the Ethiopian claims with pride a
strong relation TO the Semites.
Getting Into Ethiopia.
ue lLOAl uOtI cALAGA4NC anu pun "
Ethiopia is Djibouti, French Somali-
land. The French are commercially
responsible for DjibOuti. It is the base
of their 5OO-mile railway from the
coast directly inland TO Adds Ababa,
the Ethiopian capital This railway is
EthiOpia's only modern connection with
the outside world. Djibouti is, there
fore. very important to Ethiopia. 1t is
Headquarters for an Ethiopian consul
who gives intending visitors their
visas.
There are two kinds of trains now
on the efficient but expensive little
FrancO-EthiOpian railway. On Sunday
and Wednesday mornings a train
leaves Djibouti TO arrive three days
later in Adds Ababa. Each Tuesday
evening departs the through ex-
press which does the 500 miles in SO
hours. Passengers can sleep on this
fast" train. not in pullmans. but in
adjustable seats. On the three-day
trains sleeping is done at little way
side hotels the two nights en- route.
The first day of this railway jour
ney ends usually at six in the after
noon, ar Diredawa, the first town of
importance after the train enters
Ethiopia. 1t is on the fringe of a
plateau 1900 feet above sea level and
a 20O-mile climb from the coast. An
interesting side trip from Diredawa is
the old Mohammedan walled town of
bnrTr-S NV rn17rh
tor trip or a whole day by muleback.
Camels. horses, or mules are available
as a means of transportation, but the
mule is considered the most apprOpri-
ate for one of actual or apparent high
station in life.
The second night of the three-day
train Journey is passed on the banks
of the Awash river, one of the peculiar
streams of the world. At this point il
is a swiftly flowing river in a deep
canyon Rising on the Ethiopian pla-
teau. il turns nOrtheastward toward
the Red sea, but loses itself in the
Danakil lowlands short of its natural
destination. Awash consists mainly Of
a small railway yard, a one-story
brick building housing a hotel under
quasi Hellenic management. a scatter
ing of native shacks, and many cats.
Food and accommodations are simple
and the most essential thing is a good
mosquito net.
Adds Ababa, the Capital.
The train gets under way again the
next mGIhing at dawn and rolls
through lovely grass and forest lands.
where gallop many herds of gazeIles
and antelope. Occasionally one sees
the dark blur of a rhino breakfasting
on the far side Of the Awash River
canyon. About four o'clock in the aft
noon of this third day the sprawling
city OF Adds Ababa is sighted in a
forest of blue gum trees, across a
rolling, grassy plain.
The one-story frame buildings which
formerly made up the railway station
and customs depot at Adds Ababa
have been replaced by handsome stone
structures opened in 1929. Familiar
hides and skins collected from the in
terror provinces for export to Europe
and America; stacks of coffee bags;
piles OF elephant tusks, and bales of
American cotton piece goods, which
are a principal import.
A ride of 20 minutes on mule or
horseback. or five minutes by motor,
takes the arriving traveller TO the main
part OF the city. Adds Ababs has