From the defcent o f Moura, after leaving Debra Tzai, and
Xofcam, all was thick woods till we arrived at T ch e rk in ;
the roads very rugged and broken, but the weather was
■exceedingly pleafant; for though the thermometer was
fometimes at 115°, it was always cool in the lhade ; and
b y the fide o f every river there was a ffeih gentle breeze
front N. E. efpecially at mid-day. The mornings were always
calm, or with little wind at N.' E. It regularly changed
about nine to N. W. and then fell calm. About four in
the afternoon it generally was at ’weft or near i t ; but two
currents were conftantly diftinguiihed at n ig h t ; the lower
N. E. veering eafterly towards morning; while the white
fmall clouds very thin and high, coming very rapidly from
the S. W. Ihewed the direction and ftrength o f the higher
current. The mornings and nights were cloudy from the
ille firft o f January, but the days perfe<5tly ferene.
On Wednefday the eighth o f January, having rectified my
quadrant with great attention, I found the latitude o f Tcherkin
, by a meridian altitude o f the fun, to be 13° 7' 30" N .;
and taking a mean between that and the meridian altitude
o f eleven different ftars, the following night, I found the true
latitude o f Tcherkin Amba to be 13” 7' 35" north. But though
from that time I was ready to depart, I could not poflibly
get difengaged from illy friends, but by a compofition, w hich
was, that I ihould ftay till the 15th, the day before Ozoro
Efther and her company were to fet out on their return to
Gondar ; and that they, bn their part, ihould fuffer me to
.depart on that day, without further perfwafion, o f throwing
an y obftacle whatever in my way. The k in g had1 recommended
to them this fort o f agreement, i f I was obllinate,
and this being fettled, we abandoned purfelves to mirth and
jfeilivity, '
C H A P .
CHA P . ftl.
from Tcherkin to Hor-Cacamoot, in Ras el Feel— Account o f it— Tranf-
aclions there.'
ON the 15 th o f January, at a quarter paft eight in the
morning, we left Tcherkin, and entered immediately
in to thick woods-; but proceeded very flowly, the road
be in g bad and unknown, i f it could be called a road, and
o u r camels overloaded. About an hour afterwards we paffed
a fmall village o f elephant hunters bn our right, and our
courfe was ftraight north, through dark thick woods, oven-
(grown with long grafs, t ill at h a lf an hour paft ten we
came to another fmall village cldfe on our right. We then
turned N. W. and continued in that direftion, palling feve-
ra l villages, all o f elephant hunters, and moftly Mahometans,
At three quarters after twelve we came to a fmall
fiv e r which runs W. -N. W. and' falls into the Germa ; here
V e t . fv , R c we