mosas, characteristic of the burning sands of Nubia and the
shores of the Red Sea, disappear, and give place to forests of
tamarinds, which cover a surface diversified by hills. The
herds of elephants, and the antelopes and numerous monkeys
which abound in the woods below these heights, are no
longer ’seen in the plains above, where the singular kolquall,
reaching the height of forty feet^ reddens the forests with its
crimson fruit, and,-together with the thorny kantouffa, gives
a new character to the still arid region. Here Mr. Salt found,
in the month of March, the air of the plain hot and dry, and
the beds of the rivers without water. In this plain is situated
Dixam.
If 3. 2nd Level. Kingdom of Tigré.
Above thé country which submits to the Baharnegash, another
ascent leads into the plains of Tigré, which formerly
contained the kingdom of Axum. Tigré abbunds in pasturâgé,
yields in the year two harvests of wheat, of teff, and of mais,
produces cotton, of which the people of Adowa make their
dress ; and here the orange, the citron, and the banana
imported by the Portuguese flourish only in gardens. At a
somewhat greater height, but situated within this' region, are
the plains of Enderta and of Giralta, containing Chelicut and
Antalow, principal cities of Abyssinia. The kingdom 3f Tl^fe
comprehends the provinces of Abyssinia westward of the Ta-
cazze, of which the principal are Tigré and Shire toward s'the
north, Woggerat and Enderta, and the mountainous régions
of Lasta and Samen towards the south.
5f 4. High Abyssinia. Kingdom of Amhara.
The lofty hill of Lamalmoji was supposed by the Portuguese
to be higher than the Alps and Pyrenèës, but from it
the mountains of Samen appear more elevated. These mountains,
of which Amba-Hai appears to be the highest summit,
form with Lamalmon and the mountains of Lasta, a long but
not continuous chain, running from north-east to sotith-west,
and separating the high land of Tigré from the still more
elevated or Alpine country of the higher Habesh or the king-!-
dom of Amhara. The mountains of Lasta afford an almost
impenetrable barrier. There are only two passes across
them which are practicable.^ .The deep valley of the Tacazze,
the ancient boundary of Tigré, flows along the feet of these
mountains on the north-eastern side:^,,,;^
Amhara: his a name now given to the whole kingdom of
which Gondar is the capital, and » where the Amharic language
is spoken, eastward of the Tacazze. Proper Amhara is
a mountainous province of that name, to.the south-east, in
the centre aif which was Tègulat, the ancient capital of the
empire and at one period the cënfcre, of the .civilization of
'AbySsinia. This province is now in the^es'sessiOii,- of the
;Galla, a barbarous people, who have overcome all the -southern
parts of Habesh.
The present kingdom of Amhara ifr the ;heart of Abyssinia,
the abode of the emperor, or iiegush. It contains'thp upper
course ofjthe .Nile, the valley of Demhea and Lake Tzana,
near which is the royal city Of Gondar, and .likewise-.the-high
region of Gojam, which is stated by Bruce to bé a tl ^ sfytwor
miles above the level of the sea.;]: To. the kingdom of Amhara
belong the provinces of Begemder, Menna, -Belassen,
Dembea* Gojam, and Damot. Those of Shpa and Effet, which
lie,farther towards the south, were long ago. dismembered
frpm fhe empfre ofthe Negush. ,
This highest region of Habesh abounds with. Alpine pas^
turages and well cultivated plains, and is watereqfby abund~,
ant rivulets. The climate is an almost perpetual spring, interrupted
only by tropical rains, which fall tempestuously :
wintry snows as well as the droughts of s_ummer are' almost
unknown. Mr. Bruce says that it never -snows, in Abyssinia.
Mr. Gobat/ the missionary, found snow in the higher regions,
but it probably does not - remain on the ground,- and must be
of rare occurrence. The mean elevation of this plain is estimated
at eight thousand feet. The country is said to b^hëfe
tremely healthy, and Ludojf »declares, on,, fhe ^testimony of
Abbas Gregorius, that the natives often exceed their hundredth
year. Little, as Ritter observes, is known of the
* Salt’s Travels in Abyssinia. Ritter, 1 Th. 3. Abschn.
$ See Lord Valentia’s Travels, vol. Hi. p. 642. 652. 712.
K 2