With the Mission to Menelik, 1897 ... With illustrations, etc

Preface

The following pages contain the simple tale of the journey of the Mission to Addis Abbaba and back, made up from my own recollections and impressions de voyage. In the few places where I have drifted into remarks which might seem to come within the domain of politics, these are made entirely on my own responsibility, and are not in any way to be taken as an expression of official views. My best thanks are due to those members of the Mission who have allowed me to make use of their diaries or photographs. For my own sketches I crave the indulgence of my readers. I desire also to heartily acknowledge the courtesy of the proprietors of the Graphic in permitting me to reproduce numerous pictures (drawn from my original rough sketches) which appeared in their Journal. G. z>th February 1898. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE Introductory ...... i I. Arrival at Zeila and Organisation of Caravan 5 II.

Zeila to Biya Kaboba . . . . -13 III. Biya Kaboba to Gildessa . . . .24 IV. Gildessa to Harrar . . . . .36 V. Harrar . . . . . . 48 VI. Harrar to Burka . ' . . . 67 VII. A Day on the March— Burka to Laga Hardim . 88 VIII. Laga Hardim to Addis Abbaba . . 103 IX. Receptions and Ceremonials at the Capital . 121 X. Presentation of Gifts — The Ethiopian Royal Family . . . . . . . 143 XI. Life at Addis Abbaba — Market — Trade, etc. . 156 XII. Life in Camp — Railways — Telegraphs — Food — Luncheon with Menelik .... 172 XIII. The Army 188 XIV. The Festival at St. Raguel's . . . .209 XV. Manners— Customs— Character . . .216 XVI. Descent — Language — Education — Literature — Religion— Justice . . . . .227 CONTENTS CHAP. PACE XVII. Personal Gossip— Curios — Music — Final Reception — Departure ..... 245 XVIII.

Akaki to Laga Hardim ... • 263 XIX. Laga Hardim to Harrar .... 280 XX. Harrar back to Zeila ..... 297 Epilogue . . . ., . . . 312 APPENDICES A. A Glimpse of Abyssinian History . . -317 B. Composition of the Caravan .... 329 C. Itinerary of the Road from Zeila to Addis Abbaba 332 D. Details of Transport employed and Hints thereon 342 E. Weights, Measures, and Prices in Shoa . .351 F. Some Latitudes and Longitudes . . . 356 G. Text of the Treaty with Menelik . . . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Mission at Balawa(i)1 .... Frontispiece Near Aruweina (2) . . . . . .21 Reception at Gildessa (2) ..... 31 Reception by Makunnen (2) . . . -43 From our Camp at Harrar (3) . . . . -49 Market-place and Gate, Harrar (3) . . . -55 Returning from Dinner with Ras Makunnen (4) To face p. 60 The Tragedy of the Dhoolies (2) . . 63, 64 Worabili (1) . . . ■ • • ■ -73 Natives bringing Food at Worabili (4) .

To face p. 74 Somali Police (2) . . ... • • -77 On the March (7) . . . ■ . To face p. 82 C. E. B. does a Hundred Yards Record (2). . . 91 View from Camp at Kunni (1) . . . . -97 A Terrible Catastrophe (2) .... 105 The Hawash (6) ..... To face p. no Our Compound (2) . . . . • • .122 The Escort Arrives (5) . • ■ • • .124 1 For explanation of reference numbers, see note at end of List of Illustrations, p. xi. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS X PAGE The King's Drums (2) . . . . .127 Reception by Menelik (4) . . . To face p. 130 St. George's Church (3) . . . . ■ • '33 Ethiopic Art (2) . . . . . . . 135 In the Matter of the Bull (2) . . . 138-141 Queen Taitu (8) . . . . To face p. 146 Menelik (2) . . . . . . . .152 Ras Mangasha Tekkem (2) . . . . -155 Addis Abbaba — View of the Palace (6) . To face p. 158 Types in the Market (5) . . . . . . 166 Hut at Addis Abbaba (5) ...... 172 A Scion of Nobility (i) . . . . . .179 A General (2) . . . . . . .189 Abyssinian Officers (2) . . . . . .201 The Festival at St. Raguel's . . .

To face p. 212 Ras Mikhael's Camp (5) . . . . . . 217 Salutations (2) . . . . . . .221 A Lady of High Degree (2) .... 222 Coiffures (2) ....... 224 Patent from Menelik ...... 231 A Masher (2) . . . . . . .242 Departure from Addis Abbaba (2) . . . . 259 Near Chaffe Dunsa (5) . . . . . . 255 Tadechamalca (3) . . . . . . .271 Cottonwood Trees in Kunni Forest (5) . . . 284 Ambashye and Family (5) . 2gl Gel Dabbal, with Native Shanties (2) 30c LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XI NOTE (i) Photograph by Pinching Bey. (2) Original Sketch by the Author. (3) Photograph by Lord E. Cecil. (4) From Sketch by the Author (reproduced in the Graphic). (5) Photograph by Captain Swayne. (6) By A. Twidle — from Photographs. (7) By the Author and A. Twidle. (8) Photograph from M. Vanderheym's "Vingt Mois en Abyssinie" (Hachette &* Co).

MAPS Map of Abyssinia ...... At end Addis Abbaba and Environs .... „ — ♦ — INTRODUCTORY It is a long time since England has had any diplo matic dealings with Abyssinia. Leaving out of the question Sir Gerald Portal's Mission in 1887 to King John, which was sent for the specific purpose of trying to make peace between His Majesty and the Italians, and had little reference to the relations existing, or supposed to exist, between Abyssinia and ourselves, the most recent attempt at rapproche ment between the two countries dates from Sir William Hewett's Mission in 1884. And this Mission was also sent for a specific purpose, — that of asking King John's assistance in the evacuation of the garrisons of the Eastern Sudan. Previous to this, our only political dealings in the last fifty years with the country had resulted in the war of 1867-68, which upset the Brigand-King Theodore, and indirectly placed King John on the throne.

The result of this war instilled into Abyssinia a wholesome fear of the British military power. On our side, having spent an immense sum of money with an extremely inadequate return for it, — for the country which we had conquered, Northern Abyssinia, was commercially valueless, and not worth annexing, — we were content to drop the matter altogether. Times, however, have altered. So far as Northern Abyssinia is concerned, we might almost still be occu pying our ci-devant position as benevolent and passive spectators. But a new Power, of which we knew and recked little, has arisen in the South. Abyssinia, as understood in England, has always been that northern part of the country which was traversed by our Expedition of 1867-68, and over which Theodore and John in succession held sway ; i.e. the provinces of Tigr6 and Amhara, and perhaps Gondar and Wollo Galla as well.

As to the country which lay to the south of these provinces we knew little, for Shoa had been visited by few Englishmen, and was as yet of no political importance. Only ten years ago, at the time of Portal's Mission, although it was known that Menelik, King of Shoa, possessed a large army, and that it was doubtful whether he would throw in his lot with King John against the Italians, or vice versa, he and his subjects were treated by the world at large as a quantity negligeable. But in the meantime, whilst European attention was concentrated on the operations, peaceful and otherwise, of the Italians and Abyssinians in Tigre" INTRODUCTORY 3 and the northern part os the country, the individual genius of Menelik was hard at work consolidating his southern kingdom, increasing his forces, and pre paring for the coup-de-main which, at the death of John at the hands of the Dervishes in the battle of Galabat (March 1889), seated him firmly on the throne of Abyssinia.

And then the Northern princes turned in fury against the "usurper" of what they considered their own lawful property, and found that they were much too weak to withstand him. The central point of interest was therefore at one stroke shifted from north to south. The Italians, whose representative, Count Antonelli, was fortunately on the spot at the time, at once concluded an amicable treaty (Uccialli) with Menelik, and all was rose-garlands and happiness for a time between them. Then clouds began to gather; the Italian arms inflicted reverse after reverse on the Northerners, till Menelik, anxious for the integrity of his kingdom, and mistrustful of the growing power of Italy, repudiated the Uccialli treaty (which he considered had been misinterpreted by Italy), and finally took the field at the head of his army to come to the assistance of his Northern countrymen.

The result is but too well known, and the terrible defeat at Adua entirely changed the aspect of affairs. Thanks to the vast stores of rifles and ammunition which had been pouring for the last three or four years into the country through Jibuti, Menelik found himself victor in a fair fight with a European Power. Up to this time all Europeans had been looked up to in Abyssinia with respect, if not fear. Adua, to use a vulgarism, upset the apple-cart, and entirely altered the views of the natives. The body of the Abyssinian people even now imagines that their victory has laid not only Italy, but the whole of Europe, at their feet, and their heads are pro portionately elevated. It stands to reason, therefore, that they include England in this category, and certainly, as far as the Southerners are concerned, they have forgotten all about Magdala.

As we had up till now never entered into political relations with Menelik, — and indeed could not do so as long as he was considered to be under the protectorate of, or was at war with, our friends the Italians, — and as the idea is firmly rooted in Abyssinia that it was we who supplied the Italians with money to carry on their campaign, our prestige in the country had somewhat diminished, and may be said to have reached its lowest point by the beginning of 1897. Hence our Mission. lAPTHGSWAYNE LTCOLWINGATE PINCHING BEY CAPT.SPEEDY. CAPT HON. CEBINGHAM. M?R0OO CAPTCOUNT GLEIGHEN LORD E. CECIL THE MISSION TO MENELIK, 1897.

Chapter I Arrival At Zeila And Organisation Of Caravan

It was on the 18th of last March (1897) that we disembarked at Zeila from the Royal Indian Marine Steamer Mayo. From the spot where she was lying at anchor, two miles out, the coast did not look inviting ; a narrow white streak, shimmering in the glare of an overhead sun, with nothing to relieve it but a few whitewashed buildings and one minaret, gave one the impression of heat, heat, and nothing but heat. But on closer acquaintance it was not so bad, for a fresh sea breeze was blowing, and soon wafted us and our piles of baggage ashore in the little native dhows that had come out to fetch us. At the other end of the long pier which juts out into the shallow water, we were greeted by the Assistant- Resident, Lieutenant J. L. Harrington, of the Indian Staff Corps, and by hundreds of camels, which he had brought down to transport our baggage to the place where the caravan was to start from.

Beautiful camels they were, with their crowd of wild-looking, shaggy-haired, brown-skinned drivers, each armed with spear and shield, and their most original and effective packsaddles of matting and grass. Five minutes over deep sand brought us to the new Residency, and in the open space behind it we saw already signs of our expedition, in the shape of Aden troopers, mules, bags of flour, water-casks, boxes, etc., which had mostly been sent over from Aden. The amount of stores and baggage that we took up country was necessarily so huge, that modesty compels me to relegate the detail thereof to an appendix ; * but before proceeding to details, it will be necessary to give some account of the personnel. First and foremost came Mr. Rennell Rodd, C.M.G., in charge of the mission. I have not yet mentioned that our object was to proceed up country to Addis Abbaba, the present capital of Abyssinia, with a view of making the acquaintance of the Emperor Menelik, informing ourselves about the state of the country, and, if possible, concluding a treaty of friendship and commerce with His Majesty.

The latter was apparently very anxious to receive us and make friends with us, for the Home Government had received, within five weeks of their despatchino the telegram, a most cordial answer to their inquiry as to whether he would receive a Mission. Mr. Rodd was (and is) Chief Secretary at the British Agency in Cairo, and had already had experience of African potentates and their ways, in the shape of the Sultan of Zanzibar, to whose court he had been accredited 1 Appendix B, p. 329. PERSONNEL OF THE MISSION 7 m 1893. He had also done some African travelling, having accompanied the Witu expedition, which chas tised the Witu rebels in 1893. Next in command was Lieut.-Colonel Wingate, C B., D.S.O., R.A., whose name is well known as Director of Military Intelligence in the Egyptian Army, and to whose skill and work much of the success of the fighting in the Sudan for the last ten years is due.

He was appointed Treasurer and Official Journal-writer. (I may add that he was shockingly lazy about this last portion of his duties, and made me do nearly half of it.) H. H. Pinching Bey, second-in-command of the Egyptian Sanitary Department, who had much dis tinguished himself in the cholera epidemic of last year, was our Medical Officer and Mess President. Luckily he was hardly ever required in the former capacity, — I mean, because we were hardly ever ill, — and in the latter he was a strict and efficient economist. Captain (temporary Major) H. G. C. Swayne, R.E., was our Transport Officer. He knew Somaliland well, having already made seventeen sporting trips within the country, and written a book about it, and we looked forward much to having the benefit of his experience. He was also responsible for longitude and latitude-taking, and for the care of a theodolite, which weighed about a ton, and was always getting lost — some people said on purpose.

Captain the Hon. Cecil Bingham, 1st Life Guards, was appointed Commissariat Officer to the native part of the caravan, and subsequently his great knowledge of veterinary science stood us in good stead when mules became our means of transport. He was also Chief Ornamental Officer to the Mission, and later on produced a great effect on the natives with his helmet and cuirass. Captain Tristram Speedy luckily happened -to be in Cairo when the Mission was being organised, and he was at once secured as being the only Englishman conversant with Amharic. He had in his younger days seen a good deal of service with King Theodore, had thereafter accompanied our Abyssinian expedition of 1867 as Political Officer, and had also been with Admiral Hewett, when that officer went to Makalle and made a treaty with King John, in 1884.

It was a wonder that he remembered any of the difficult language of the country; but he is a linguist by nature, and Amharic very soon came back to him. He was, up country, known to many of the natives by the name of Basha Feliki, his nick name in 1867. Lord Edward Cecil, Grenadier Guards, added height and (moral) weight to the party. He was nominated Ordnance Store Officer, his chief duties consisting in seeing that the rope (for loading) was not stolen oftener than was absolutely necessary, and in distributing blankets, and khaki jackets, and carbines, and ammunition, as they became necessary. He was also appointed botanist, ornithologist, and entomologist to the expedition, and used to discourse PERSONNEL OF THE MISSION 9 learnedly on these subjects without fear of contradic tion by the more ignorant portion of the community.

It was my fate to enter upon the duties of Intelligence Officer and superintendent of water arrangements, and, in addition, to make a road sketch of our route, and rough surveys of other portions, as long as my doing so did not interfere in any way with the susceptibilities of the natives. As regards the personal height of members of the Mission, to which some reference was made in the newspapers at the time, the average was the very fair one of six feet one, and this although Mr. Rodd, Wingate, and myself barely exceeded five feet eight ; the others were as follows : — Speedy . . . . 6 ft. 5 in. Cecil . . . • 6 „ 4 „ Pinching . . . . 6 ,, 3^ ,, Bingham . . . . 6 ,, 3 ,, Swayne . . . • 6 ,, 2\ „ Of the remaining members, mention should certainly be made of Yuzbashi (Captain) Shahin Effendi George, a Syrian officer of the Egyptian Intelligence Department, who was Arabic secretary, clerk, and cashier of the treasure.

Always willing and anxious to make himself useful, he spoke English nearly as well as he did Arabic, and, although never very much in evidence, he contributed in no small deo-ree to the success of the Mission. Of white servants we had three, Herbert, Cross (both Grenadiers), and Butcher (servant to Mr. Rodd) ; they were chiefly occupied with the mess, and very well they ran it. Our body-servants were a select assortment of natives, Egyptian, Somali, Abyssinian, and Hindu, and a very faithful lot they were on the whole. Of native interpreters — Abyssinians — we had two : Waldo Haimanot, a Shoan who lived in Cairo, and who, besides knowing a certain amount of broken English, was well acquainted with the literature and forms of Abyssinian etiquette ; and Stefan Birru, a Tigrin picked up on the way and conversant with Arabic, whose chief characteristic was that he fulfilled with remarkable accuracy Shakespeare's dictum, that "a man may smile, and smile, and be a villain."

A Jemadar1 and twenty Sowars2 of the Aden Troop (Sikhs and Rajputs) were going to accompany us as escort, and had already arrived at Zeila. For the composition of the remainder of the caravan, the reader must again be referred to Appendix B, p. 329. Harrington was kind enough to put up four of us in his new Residency, and to entertain the whole party until we left. The remaining four officers, including myself, found a resting-place in the old Residency, close to the pier, a somewhat tumble-down native building, which was used to house Italian officers and men, late prisoners of war, on their arrival at the coast from the interior. Next day was devoted to getting the baggage 1 Native officer. a Troopers. RIGGING OUT THE SOMALIS 11 sorted into camel-loads, and, amongst other things, to dressing up the Somali police and syces in khaki jackets, waistbelts, pouches, and M.-H. carbines.

They were all delighted at being thus rigged out, for although the police have (Snider) rifles, no other native is allowed to carry firearms, and this alone immensely increased the importance of the syces in their own eyes and in those of their less fortunate brethren. Buttons were also served out with the jackets, and after a short instruction we left them to their own devices. Half an hour later we fell them in and inspected them, but the only uniformity in the ranks was the broad smile which pervaded all ; slings had been fastened upside down and inside out, pouches ditto, waistbelts had slid over their slender stomachs, in some cases down to their knees, and buttons, hitherto unknown to them, were doing duty in all sorts of odd positions. These things put to rights, we proceeded to select individual syces and mules for ourselves.

I secured, on the recommendation of my faithful Somali boy Ismail, whom I had picked up in Aden, a friend of his, by name Ismailu, a Gadabursi youth with a black skin and a perpetual grin. Barring the difficulty of having similar names, which often caused the wrong boy — or both, or neither — to come when I shouted, these two servants did me excellently well throughout. I shall refer to them afterwards, as they were both "characters" in their way. The thirty mules which Harrington had bought for ourselves, our servants, and ten of the Aden Troop, were all of a good stamp ; and though some of us would have wished them a bit more weight-carriers, they were sturdier and tougher than they looked. Then the question of wages for the men, the itiner ary, water supply, and all the rest of it had to be discussed, and it was far into the night before we had packed our own things and retired to bed.

Chapter II Zeila To Biya Kaboba

Next morning at daybreak the camels began loadino up, and moved off in detachments under the various officers, the last lot starting about eleven. The day was fairly cool, and the going excellent, over a hard, sandy plain, glistening with salt deposits and dotted with low, rough scrub. At Warabod, eight miles out, mules and horses stopped to water ; and here we made the acquaintance of the ordinary Somali wells. These are nothing but funnel-shaped holes dug in the sand, varying in depth according to the water-bearing stratum and in breadth accord ing to the importance of the well. There were five or six water-holes at Warabod, and these were sur rounded by a picturesque crowd of Somalis, all carry inospears and shields, and engaged in watering flocks of goats, camels, and fat-tailed sheep.

With the help of a few annas we secured two of the wells for ourselves, and the natives helped us by throwing up the water in conical wicker baskets and pouring it into the ox-skins stretched on upright pieces of stick which served them as troughs. ia Five miles farther on we pitched camp at a spot called Ashado,1 a favourite pasture-ground for camels. As we kept to the same form of camp all along, it may be worth while to mention its shape and constitution. Officers' tents in line in front, with mess tent in the centre, or in front of the centre. Presents, treasure, water-casks, and mess stores in line im mediately in rear, under the charge of a sentry of the Aden Troop. Four tents of servants and interpreters, and kitchen in rear of them. Six Aden Troop tents, and horse and mule lines, to the right rear of above, the Somali stores and natives to left rear.

The camels were unloaded immediately on arrival in camp and turned loose to graze and rest, their excellent packsaddles (of long pieces of wood and thick fibre " herios " or grass-mats) being taken to pieces and forming shelters for the Somalis during the night. An hour before dawn the camels were driven in from the surrounding country, and at reveille" they were saddled and began to load up, the operation taking at first two hours, and later one and a half to one and a quarter hours, from the time of reveille. Owing to the absence of bugler or trumpeter, reveille" was given by two blank cartridges fired by the sentry. 1 For an itinerary of the whole route, giving description of each camping-ground, and other details, see Appendix C. THE MARITIME PLAIN 15 Arrangements were also made here as to water, and the fifty casks, holding 12^ gallons apiece, were numbered off for the different classes of thirsty souls whose wants they were to satisfy.

The night was hot and stuffy, and my disordered dreams partly prepared me for the first object on which my eyes lit upon awakening, viz. a nice little poisonous brown snake, who had curled himself com fortably up and was fast asleep inside my indiarubber bath. After his execution we sfot the Somali camel drivers to work, and, with an infinity of trouble, managed to get the caravan loaded up in about two hours. Our hearts sank at the prospect of this hap pening every morning, but we soon found the Somalis had an original way of their own of loading, and did it much quicker and better without our kind assistance, so we determined in the future to leave them severely alone. That day was very hot — in fact, much hotter than it had any right to be in March. It was not that the air was so hot, but the sun sent down scorching rays like the breath of a furnace, and peeled off pieces of skin in no time from one's unguarded cuticle — specially in the region of the nose and neck.

How ever, we bore up under the infliction, comforting ourselves with the idea that, once the Maritime Plain was passed, the weather would get cooler. As our caravan had left Zeila in variously consti tuted detachments, it was necessary to organise it properly, so this was done on the march. Each string of camels as they came swinging along in single file was motioned off with their driver to a particular spot in the plain, according to the load ; and on moving off again, orders were given that this arrangement should be strictly adhered to, two police men being placed in charge of each section. The final result was as follows : — ist Section, Tents and cooking pots1. 12 camels. 2nd „ Officers' mess and baggage and medical stores, etc. . -75 3rd ,, Aden Troop baggage and rations 45 4th ,, Somali rations . . .20 5th „ Water . . . . 25 6th ,, Presents and treasure . .12 Total 189 The head of each section carried a coloured flag nailed to his spear, and, on arrival in camp, two flags of the corresponding colour, stuck in the ground, showed him where to deposit his loads.

Of the Aden Troop six sowars formed the ad vanced guard and six the rearguard, whilst the Jemadar and eight sowars formed the escort for Mr. Rodd, the presents, and the treasure. After a rather exhausting march of nearly seven hours — for we were none of us in the best of condition after our life on board ship — we arrived at a spot to which Harrington had sent water, Dadab by name. 1 The large Berkefeld filter we took with us deserves unqualified praise : it is only fair to the inventor to say so, for it produced a stream of clear good water from the dirtiest pools. ITALIAN EX-PRISONERS 17 Here we found about forty-five large barrels full, most of it drawn from Ambos, ten miles off on the other Zeila- Harrar road ; this provided an ample supply not only for the immediate needs of man and beast, but for our journey next day to Hensa.

Phis last was but a repetition of the experience of the day before, so it is not necessary to describe the route further than to say that it led over a level sandy plain dotted with grass - tufts, scrub, and mimosa-bush, and that the sun again did its fair share of scorching. Soon after starting* from Dadab, two Italian officers and a hundred and ninety - six men (lately prisoners in Abyssinia) were met on their way down to the coast. The men were all walking, except one or two wounded and sick who rode mules, and looked brown, healthy, and well-cared for. We exchanged a few words with the officers, and found they had left Addis Abbaba on the 13th February, thus making the journey to this point in thirty-eight days. They had had great diffi culty in procuring enough food to keep them alive during the first week or two, as the inhabitants had refused to sell them anything ; but on arriving at Harrar they had found a section of the Red Cross Mission of their own country, which had set them up in clothes and food for the rest of the journey.

They were going to halt at Dadab, where Harrington had provided another supply of water and forage for them and their beasts, and were in tearing spirits at the idea of their speedy return to Europe after an enforced absence of just a year. Once past Hensa and the Maritime Plain, the road took to rising and winding in and out of rocks, but the weather seemed to remain about the same, and to get, if anything, rather hotter. At the last mentioned place, by the way, we had the first trouble with our followers — the camel -drivers this time. They formed line in a most military way, front rank squatting, rear rank standing, all armed with spear and shield, and sent a deputation to complain that we were marching too fast, and they wouldn't stand it. Our only answer to this was that if they didn't behave themselves, they wouldn't get any bakshish.

This produced considerable effect, and the martial body broke up, grumbling. We judiciously started late next morning, on purpose to give their camels a little more rest, but the only thanks we got was a notification that they did not like starting in the morning heat, and would thank us to move off earlier. The part of Somaliland through which the Zeila- Harrar road passes is very much like the country round Suakin and the desert parts of the Sudan. Sandy in parts, rocky in others, and bare almost throughout save for the everlasting mimosa trees, and here and there some scrubby grass, the country is desolate and uninteresting to the last degree. No villages enliven the route, and, except for the numer ous travellers that one meets going to and fro between Abyssinia and the sea, the only human HENSA TO SOMADU 19 beings seen are wandering Somalis pasturing their flocks or camels on the scrub and grass aforesaid, or watering them at the wells.