Bruce again attempts to reach the Fountains of the Nile, and succeeds.

Although the iteghe showed great aversion to Bruce's design of exploring the source of the Nile in times of such trouble and commotion, she did not positively forbid the attempt; and therefore, on the 28th of October, 1770, he and his party commenced the undertaking. Bruce's quadrant required four men, relieving each other, to carry it, and his timekeeper and telescopes employed two more. His difficulties, however, were now all in his own cause; he had no longer to expose himself to danger amid the quarrels and jarring interests of others; his own great object was now before him—an object which he had long determined to attain, or to perish in the attempt.

After passing a number of torrents, which were all rushing through the flat country of Dembea towards the great lake Tzana, they came to Gorgora, an elevated peninsula, running into the lake for several miles. This is one of the pleasantest situations in Abyssinia. The eye passes rapidly over the expansive lake, through which run the waters of the Nile; it then views with pleasure the flat, rich countries of Dembea, Gojam, and Maitsha; and the high hills of Begemder and Woggora terminate the prospect. It was this healthy, beautiful situation which was chosen by Peter Paez for the site of a most magnificent church and monastery.

On reaching the borders of the lake on the 30th, neither the fear of crocodiles nor of hippopotami could deter Bruce from swimming in it for several minutes: although the sun was exceedingly hot, he found the water intensely cold, owing to the streams which ran into it from the mountains.

Proceeding on their journey, they now met multitudes of peasants flying before Fasil's army, which, for some unknown purpose, he had suddenly put in motion. Fasil was at Bamba, a collection of small villages situated in a valley; and as Bruce knew it was in this chieftain's power to forward him in his object, he anxiously repaired to him. The following day he received a message to wait upon him, and his interview with this great rebel he thus describes:

"After announcing myself, I waited about a quarter of an hour before I was admitted. Fasil was sitting upon a cushion, with a lion's skin upon it, and another, stretched like a carpet, before his feet. He had a cotton cloth, something like a dirty towel, wrapped about his head; his upper cloak or garment was drawn tight about him over his neck and shoulders, so as to cover his hands. I bowed, and went forward to kiss one of them, but it was so entangled in the cloth that I was obliged to kiss the cloth instead of the hand. This was done, either as not expecting I should pay him that compliment (as I certainly should not have done, being one of the king's servants, if the king had been at Gondar), or else it was intended for a mark of disrespect, which was very much of a piece with the rest of his behaviour afterward.

"There was no carpet or cushions in the tent, and only a little straw, as if accidentally, thrown thinly about it. I sat down upon the ground, thinking him sick, not knowing what all this meant. He looked steadfastly at me, saying, half under his breath, 'Endet nawi? bogo nawi?' which, in Amharic, is, 'How do you do? are you very well?' I made the usual answer, 'Well, thank God.' He again stopped, as for me to speak. There was only one old man present, who was sitting on the floor mending a mule's bridle. I took him at first for an attendant; but, observing that a servant, uncovered, held a candle to him, I thought he was one of his Galla; but then I saw a blue silk thread which he had about his neck, which is a badge of Christianity all over Abyssinia, and which a Galla would not wear. What he was I could not make out: he seemed, however, to be a very bad cobbler, and took no notice of us.

"'I am come,' said I, 'by your invitation and the king's leave, to pay my respects to you in your own government, begging that you would favour my curiosity so far as to allow me to see the country of the Agows and the source of the Abay (or Nile), part of which I have seen in Egypt.' 'The source of the Abay!' exclaimed he, with a pretended surprise; 'do you know what you are saying? Why, it is God knows where, in the country of the Galla, wild, terrible people. The source of the Abay! are you raving?' repeats he again: 'are you to get there, do you think, in a twelvemonth, or more, or when?' 'Sir,' said I, 'the king told me it was near Sacala, and still nearer Geesh; both villages of the Agows, and both in your government.' 'And so you know Sacala and Geesh?' says he, whistling and half angry. 'I can repeat the names that I hear,' said I; 'all Abyssinia knows the head of the Nile.' 'Ay,' says he, imitating my voice and manner, 'but all Abyssinia won't carry you there, that I promise you.' 'If you are resolved to the contrary,' said I, 'they will not: I wish you had told the king so in time, then I should not have attempted it; it was relying upon you alone I came so far—confident, if all the rest of Abyssinia could not protect me there, that your word singly could do it.'

"He now put on a look of more complacency. 'Look you, Yagoube,' says he, 'it is true I can do it; and, for the king's sake, who recommended it to me, I would do it; but the chief priest, Abba Salama, has sent to me to desire me not to let you pass farther; he says it is against the law of the land to permit Franks like you to go about the country, and that he has dreamed something ill will befall me if you go into Maitsha.' I was as much irritated as I thought it possible for me to be. 'So, so,' said I, 'the time of priests, prophets, and dreamers is coming on again.' 'I understand you,' says he, laughing for the first time; 'I care as little for priests as Michael does, and for prophets too; but I would have you consider the men of this country are not like yours; a boy of these Galla would think nothing of killing a man of your country. You white people are all effeminate; you are like so many women; you are not fit for going into a province where all is war, and inhabited by men, warriors from their cradle.'

"I saw he intended to provoke me; and he had succeeded so effectually, that I should have died, I believe, if I had not, imprudent as it was, told him my mind in reply. 'Sir,' said I, 'I have passed through many of the most barbarous nations in the world; all of them, excepting this clan of yours, have some great men among them above using a defenceless stranger ill. But the worst and lowest individual among the most uncivilized people never treated me as you have done to-day under your own roof, where I have come so far for protection.' He asked, 'How?' 'You have, in the first place,' said I, 'publicly called me Frank, the most odious name in this country, and sufficient to occasion me to be stoned to death, without farther ceremony, by any set of men, wherever I may present myself. By Frank you mean one of the Romish religion, to which my nation is as adverse as yours; and again, without having ever seen any of my countrymen but myself, you have discovered, from that specimen, that we are all cowards and effeminate people, like, or inferior to, your boys or women. Look you, sir, you never heard that I gave myself out as more than an ordinary man in my own country, far less to be a pattern of what is excellent in it. I am no soldier, though I know enough of war to see yours are poor proficients in that trade. But there are soldiers, friends and countrymen of mine, who would not think it an action to vaunt of, that, with five hundred men, they had trampled all your naked savages into dust.' On this Fasil made a feigned laugh, and seemed rather to take my freedom amiss. It was, doubtless, a passionate and rash speech. 'As to myself,' continued I, 'unskilled in war as I am, could it be now without farther consequence, let me but be armed in my own country-fashion, on horseback as I was yesterday, I should, without thinking myself overmatched, fight the two best horsemen you shall choose from this your army of famous men, who are warriors from their cradle; and if, when the king arrives, you are not returned to your duty, and we meet again as we did at Limjour, I will pledge myself, with his permission, to put you in mind of this promise, and leave the choice of these men in your option.' This did not make things better.

"He repeated the word duty after me, and would have replied, but my nose burst out in a stream of blood, and that instant a servant took hold of me by the shoulder to hurry me out of the tent. Fasil seemed to be a good deal concerned, for the blood streamed out upon my clothes. I returned, then, to my tent, and the blood was soon stanched by washing my face with cold water. I sat down to recollect myself, and the more I calmed, the more I was dissatisfied at being put off my guard; but it is impossible to conceive the provocation without having proved it. I have felt but too often how much the love of our native soil increases by our absence from it; and how jealous we are of comparisons made to the disadvantage of our countrymen by people who, all proper allowances being made, are generally not their equals, when they would boast themselves their superiors. I will confess farther, in gratification to my critics, that I was, from my infancy, of a sanguine, passionate disposition; very sensible of injuries that I had neither provoked nor deserved; but much reflection from very early life, continual habits of suffering in long and dangerous travels, where nothing but patience would do, had, I flattered myself abundantly, subdued my natural proneness to feel offences which common sense might teach me I could only revenge upon myself.

"However, upon farther consulting my own breast, I found there was another cause that had co-operated strongly with the former in making me lose my temper at this time, which, upon much greater provocation, I had never done before. I found now, as I thought, that it was decreed decisively my hopes of arriving at the source of the Nile were for ever ended; all my trouble, all my expenses, all my time, and all my sufferings for so many years were thrown away, from no greater obstacle than the whimsies of one barbarian, whose good inclinations I thought I had long before sufficiently secured; and, what was worse, I was now got within less than forty miles of the place I so much wished to see; and my hopes were shipwrecked upon the last, as well as the most unexpected, difficulty I had to encounter."

Shortly after Bruce had retired to his tent, Fasil sent to him two lean sheep, and a guard of men to protect him during the night. In the morning, twelve horses, saddled and bridled, were brought to him by Fasil's servant, who asked him which he would ride. Bruce left the man to select for him a quiet horse, and forthwith mounted the one which was offered to him.

"For the first two minutes after I mounted," says Bruce, "I do not know whether I was most in the earth or in the air; he kicked behind, reared before, leaped like a deer, all four off the ground, and it was some time before I recollected myself; he then attempted to gallop, taking the bridle in his teeth, but got a check which staggered him; he however continued to gallop, and, finding I slackened the bridle on his neck, and that he was at ease, he set off and ran away as hard as he could, flinging out behind every ten feet; the ground was very favourable, smooth, soft, and up-hill. I then, between two hills, half up the one and half up the other, wrought him so that he had no longer either breath or strength, and I began to think he would scarce carry me to the camp.

"The poor beast made a sad figure, cut in the sides to pieces, and bleeding at the jaws; and the seis, the rascal that put me upon him, being there when I dismounted, held up his hands upon seeing the horse so mangled, and began to testify great surprise upon the supposed harm I had done. I took no notice of this, and only said, 'Carry that horse to your master; he may venture to ride him now, which is more than either he or you dared to have done in the morning.'"

Bruce then mounted his own horse, and took with him his double-barrelled gun. The Galla were encamped close to him, and, anxious to raise himself in the estimation of these wild people by those sort of feats which they most admire, he galloped about, twisting and turning his horse in every direction. A vast number of kites were following the camp, living upon the carrion; and choosing two which were gliding near him, he shot first one on the right, then one on the left, when a great shout immediately followed from the spectators, to which Bruce seemingly paid no attention, pretending the most complete indifference, as if nothing extraordinary had been done.

Fasil was at the door of the tent, and, having beheld the shots and horsemanship, ordered the kites immediately to be brought to him: his servants had laboured in vain to find the hole where the ball with which Bruce must needs have killed the birds had entered; for none of them had ever seen small shot, and he took care not to undeceive them. Bruce had no sooner entered his tent than he asked him, with great earnestness, to show him where the ball had passed through. Before this difficulty, however, could be solved, Fasil, perceiving the quantity of blood upon Bruce's trousers, held up his hands with a show of horror and concern which plainly was not counterfeited: he protested, by every oath he could devise, that he knew nothing about the matter, and was asleep at the time; that he had no horses with him worth Bruce's acceptance except the one he himself rode; but that any horse known to be his, driven before the traveller, would be a passport, and procure him respect among all the wild people whom he might meet, and for that reason only he had thought of offering him a horse. He repeated his protestations that he was innocent, and heartily sorry for the accident, which, indeed, he appeared to be: adding that the groom was in irons, and that, before many hours passed, he would put him to death. "Sir," said Bruce, "as this man has attempted my life, according to the laws of the country, it is I that should name the punishment." "It is very true," replied Fasil; "take him, Yagoube, and cut him in a thousand pieces if you please, and give his body to the kites." "Are you really sincere in what you say," said I, "and will you have no after excuses?" He swore solemnly he would not. "Then," said I, "I am a Christian: the way my religion teaches me to punish my enemies is by doing good for evil; and therefore I keep you to the oath you have sworn, and desire you to set the man at liberty, and put him in the place he held before, for he has not been undutiful to you."

Every one present seemed pleased with these sentiments; one of the attendants could not contain himself, but, turning to Fasil, said, "Did not I tell you what my brother thought about this man? He was just the same all through TigrÉ." Fasil, in a low voice, very justly replied, "A man that behaves as he does may go through any country!"

In an interview which Bruce afterward had with Fasil, he made him some handsome presents, for which he appeared to be exceedingly grateful. "I have nothing to return you for the present you have given me," said Fasil, "for I did not expect to meet a man like you here in the fields; but you will quickly be back; we shall meet on better terms at Gondar; the head of the Nile is near at hand; a horseman, express, will arrive there in a day. I have given you a good man, well known in this country to be my servant; he will go to Geesh with you, and return you to a friend of Ayto Aylo's and mine, Shalaka Welled Amlac; he has the dangerous part of the country wholly in his hands, and will carry you safe to Gondar; my wife is at present in his house: fear nothing, I shall answer for your safety. When will you set out? to-morrow?"

Bruce replied, with many thanks for his kindness, "that he wished to proceed immediately, and that his servants were already far on the way."

"You are very much in the right," says Fasil; "it was only in the idea that you were hurt with that accursed horse that I would have wished you to stay till to-morrow; but throw off these bloody clothes; they are not decent; I must give you new ones; you are my vassal. The king has granted you Geesh, where you are going, and I must invest you." A number of his servants hurried Bruce out, and he was brought back in a few minutes to Fasil's tent with a fine, loose muslin under-garment or cloth round him which reached to his feet. Fasil now took off the one that he had put on himself new in the morning, and placed it on Bruce's shoulders with his own hand (his servants throwing another immediately over him), saying at the same time to the people, "Bear witness, I give to you, Yagoube, the Agow Geesh, as fully and freely as the king has given it me." Bruce bowed and kissed his hand, as is customary for feudatories, and he then pointed to him to sit down.

"Hear what I say to you," continued Fasil; "I think it right for you to make the best of your way now, for you will be the sooner back at Gondar. You need not be alarmed at the wild people you speak of who are going after you, though it is better to meet them coming this way than when they are going to their homes; they are commanded by Welleta Yasous, who is your friend, and is very grateful for the medicines you sent him from Gondar: he has not been able to see you, being so much busied with those wild people; but he loves you, and will take care of you, and you must give me more of that physic when we meet at Gondar." Bruce again bowed, and he continued: "Hear me what I say: you see those seven people (I never saw, says Bruce, more thief-like fellows in my life); these are all leaders and chiefs of the Galla—savages, if you please; they are all our brethren." Bruce dutifully bowed. Fasil then jabbered something to them in Galla. They all answered by a wild scream or howl, then struck themselves upon the breast as a mark of assent, and attempted to kiss Bruce's hand. "Now," continued Fasil, "before all these men, ask me anything you have at heart, and, be it what it may, they know I cannot deny it you."

Bruce, of course, asked to be conducted immediately to the head of the Nile. Fasil then turned again to his seven chiefs, who rose up: they all stood round in a circle, and raised the palm of their hands, while he and his Galla together repeated, with great apparent devotion, a prayer about a minute long. "Now," says Fasil, "go in peace, you are a Galla; this is a curse upon them and their children, their corn, grass, and cattle, if ever they lift their hand against you or yours, or do not defend you to the utmost if attacked by others, or endeavour to defeat any design they may hear is intended against you." Upon this Bruce offered to kiss his hand, and they all went to the door of the tent, where there stood a very handsome gray horse, saddled and bridled. "Take this horse," says Fasil, "as a present from me; but do not mount it yourself; drive it before you, saddled and bridled as it is; no man of Maitsha will touch you when he sees that horse." Bruce then took leave of Fasil, and having, according to the custom of the country towards superiors, asked permission to mount on horseback before him, was speedily out of sight.

On the 31st of October Bruce and his little party once more set out in search of the source of the Nile; Fasil's horse being driven before them—a magician to lead them towards their object—an Ægis to shield them on their way.

After travelling till one o'clock in the morning, they reached a small village near that dangerous ford on the Nile which, with the king's army, Bruce had before passed with so much difficulty. They there found some of the Galla, commanded by a robber called the Jumper. Bruce next morning waited upon this personage, who was quite naked, except a towel about his loins. When Bruce entered this hero was at his toilet: in other words, he was rubbing melted tallow on his arms and body, and twining in his hair the entrails of an ox, some of which hung like a necklace round his throat. Bruce paid his respects; but, overcome with the perfume of blood and carrion, escaped as soon as possible from his presence.

At the village of Maitsha Bruce was informed that such was the dread these people entertained of the smallpox, if it made its appearance in a village the custom was at once to surround the house, set fire to it, and burn both it and its inhabitants.

After passing the Assar river they entered the province of Goutto, where they found the people richer and better lodged than in the province of Maitsha. The whole country is full of large and beautiful cattle of all colours, and is finely shaded with the acacia vera, or Egyptian thorn, the tree which, in the sultry parts of Africa, produces the gum-arabic. Beneath these trees were growing wild oats, of such a prodigious height and size that they are capable of concealing both a horse and his rider: some of the stalks were little less than an inch in circumference, and they have, when ripe, the appearance of small canes.

The soil is a fine, black garden mould; and Bruce supposes that the oat is here in its original state, and that it is degenerated with us.

With these magnificent oats before him, Bruce could not resist cooking some oat-cakes, after the fashion of Scotland; but his companions, regarding these dainties with all the disdain of a Dr. Johnson, declared that they were "bitter; that they burned their stomachs, and made them thirsty."

Though the Galla guides paid but little attention to Bruce, it was curious to observe the respect they all showed to Fasil's horse. Some gave him handfuls of barley, while others, with more refined knowledge of the world, courted his favour "by respectfully addressing him."

After passing several streams, they came to the cataract or cascade of the Assar, which runs into the Nile. This river is about eighty yards broad, and the fall is about twenty feet. The stream entirely covers the rock over which it is precipitated, and in solemn magnificence rushes down with irresistible violence and force.

"The strength of vegetation," says Bruce, "which the moisture of this river produces, supported by the action of a very warm sun, is such as one might naturally expect from theory, though we cannot help being surprised at the effects when we see them before us; trees and shrubs covered with flowers of every colour, all new and extraordinary in their shapes, crowded with birds of many uncouth forms, all of them richly adorned with variety of plumage, and seeming to fix their residence upon the banks of this river, without a desire of wandering to any distance in the neighbouring fields. But as there is nothing, though ever so beautiful, that has not some defect or imperfection, among all these feathered beauties there is not one songster; and, unless of the rose or jasmine kind, none of their flowers have any smell; we hear, indeed, many squalling, noisy birds of the jay kind, and we find two varieties of wild roses, white and yellow, to which I may add jasmine (called Leham), which becomes a large tree; but all the rest may be considered as liable to the general observation that the flowers are destitute of odour and the birds of song."

After passing the Assar, and several villages belonging to Goutto, Bruce, on the 2d of November, 1770, for the first time obtained a distinct view of the mountain of Geesh, the long-wished-for object of his most dangerous and troublesome journey; and now, in sight of his goal, he bent firmly forward, and proceeded with redoubled strength and determination.

The Nile was before him, and he joyfully descended to its banks, which were ornamented on the west with high trees of the salix or willow tribe, while on the east appeared "black, dark, and thick groves, with craggy, pointed rocks, and overshaded with old, tall timber-trees, going to decay with age: a very rude and awful face of nature; a cover from which fancy suggested that a lion might issue, or some animal or monster yet more savage and ferocious."

Having reached the passage, the ancient inhabitants, in whose hearts a veneration for their river seemed to be more firmly rooted than the more recent doctrines of Christianity, crowded to the ford, and protested against any man's riding across the stream either on a horse or mule. They insisted that Bruce and his party should take off their shoes, and they even signified that they would stone those who attempted to wash the dirt from their clothes. The servants naturally returned rudeness for rudeness; "but," says Bruce, "I sat by, exceedingly happy at having so unexpectedly found the remnants of veneration for that ancient deity still subsisting in such vigour."

The people now asked Woldo, Bruce's guide from Fasil, to pay them for carrying over the baggage and instruments. In a most violent passion, the man threw away his pipe, and, seizing a stick, exclaimed, "Who am I, then? a girl, a woman, a pagan dog, like yourselves? And who is Waragna Fasil? are you not his slaves? But you want payment, do you?" upon which he fell upon them and beat them. Not contented with this, he pretended that they had robbed him of some money, which they consented to pay to him, fearing lest some fine or heavy chastisement should fall upon their village.

As Bruce proceeded, he had some little difficulty in obtaining meat or provisions of any sort; for, although these poor people, with the utmost curiosity, would have flocked around him had they known that he was a stranger from Gondar, the sight of Fasil's horse drove them away; for they fancied that some contribution was to be levied upon them.

Bruce being now within the sound of a cataract which he was desirous to visit, took the liberty of mounting Fasil's horse, and, with a single guide, he galloped about four or five miles to see it; but he was disappointed in its appearance, the river being only about sixty yards broad, and the fall only sixteen feet. On his return he found that a cow was about to be killed for his party. Woldo had managed to discover one by bellowing through his hands in a manner which induced the unfortunate animal to reply, and the hiding-place in which she had been concealed by her owner was thus detected.

Bruce now thought proper to inform Woldo that the king had granted to him the small territory of Geesh, and that it was his intention to forgive to its poor inhabitants the taxes which they had been in the habit of paying: a noble act, but one which appeared to Woldo to savour much more of the ridiculous; for he not only most conscientiously approved of taxes, but appeared to agree in opinion with the Englishman, whose little pamphlet in favour of the same commenced with, "It is in the nature of taxes, as it is in the nature of lead, to be heavy!" Bruce, however, insisting that the burden should be removed, Woldo reluctantly yielded to his mandate.

The next day, the 3d of November, they proceeded through a plain covered with acacias. Several of the tops of these trees had been cut off for the purpose of making baskets for bees, which were hung outside the houses like bird-cages: numerous hives were at work, and although they took no notice of the inhabitants, yet they waged war against Bruce and his party, and stung them very severely.

After passing some hills, they descended into a large plain full of marshes. "In this plain," says Bruce, "the Nile winds more in the space of four miles than, I believe, any river in the world: it makes above a hundred turns in that distance, one of which advances so abruptly into the plain, that we concluded we must pass it, and were preparing accordingly, when we saw it make as sharp a turn to the right, and run far on in a contrary direction, as if we were never to have met it again." The Nile here is not above twenty feet broad nor more than a foot deep.

In crossing the plain of Goutto the sun had been intensely hot, and here it became so dreadfully oppressive that it quite overcame them all. Even Woldo declared himself to be ill, and talked of going no farther: however, by Bruce's persuasions, they pushed towards three ranges of mountains, among which were situated the small village of Geesh, and the long-expected fountains of the Nile.

Bruce says, "This triple ridge of mountains, disposed one range behind the other, nearly in form of portions of three concentric circles, seems to suggest an idea that they are the Mountains of the Moon, or the Montes LunÆ of antiquity, at the foot of which the Nile was said to rise; in fact, there are no others. Amid-amid may perhaps exceed half a mile in height; they certainly do not arrive at three quarters, and are greatly short of that fabulous height given them by Kircher. These mountains are all of them excellent soil, and everywhere covered with fine pasture; but, as this unfortunate country had been for ages the seat of war, the inhabitants have only ploughed and sown the top of them, out of the reach of enemies or marching armies. On the middle of the mountain are villages built of a white sort of grass, which makes them conspicuous at a great distance; the bottom is all grass, where their cattle feed continually under their eye; these, upon any alarm, they drive up to the top of the mountains out of danger. The hail lies often upon the top of Amid-amid for hours, but snow was never seen in this country, nor have they a word in their language for it. It is also remarkable, though we had often violent hail at Gondar, and when the sun was vertical, it never came but with the wind blowing directly from Amid-amid."

As they proceeded the people continued to fly from their little villages, scared by the appearance of Fasil's horse. In one village they found only one earthen pot containing food, which Bruce took possession of, leaving in its place a wedge of salt, which, strange to say, is still used as small money in Gondar, and all over Abyssinia. The following day they continued their journey, and, although they saw no inhabitants, they often heard voices whispering among the trees and canes. Bruce made many endeavours to catch some of these people, in order to apprize them of the real object of his visit, but "equo ne credite Teucri!" it was quite impossible, for they fled much faster than he could follow.

He therefore determined to conceal Fasil's horse, that scarecrow which created such universal alarm; but as it is considered treason at Gondar to sit on the king's chair or on his saddle, Woldo was for some time very anxious to maintain inviolate the dignity of his master. Bruce compromised the matter, however, by proposing to ride upon his own saddle, and with this proviso mounted Fasil's horse.

After proceeding for some little time along the side of a valley, they began to ascend a mountain; and, reaching its summit about noon, came in sight of Sacala which joins the village of Geesh. Shortly afterward they passed the Googueri, a stream of about sixty feet broad and about eighteen inches deep, very clear and rapid, and running over a rugged, uneven bottom of black rock. At a quarter past twelve they halted on a small eminence, where the market of Sacala is held every Saturday. Horned cattle, many of the highest possible beauty, with which all this country abounds, large asses, honey, butter, ensete for food, and a manufacture of the leaf of that plant, painted with different colours like mosaic-work, for mats, were here exposed for sale in great plenty.

At a quarter after one o'clock they passed the river Gometti, the boundary of the plain: they were now ascending a very steep and rugged mountain, the worst pass they had met on the whole journey. They had no other path but one made by the sheep or goats, and which had no appearance of having been frequented by men; for it was broken, full of holes, and in some places obstructed with large stones, that seemed to have been there from the creation. Besides this, the whole was covered with thick wood, which often occupied the very edge of the precipices on which they stood, and they were everywhere stopped and entangled by that execrable thorn the kantuffa, and several other thorns and brambles nearly as inconvenient. Bruce ascended, however, with great alacrity, as he conceived he was surmounting the last difficulty of the many thousands he had been doomed to struggle with.

At three quarters after one they arrived at the top of the mountain, from whence they had a distinct view of all the remaining territory of Sacala, the Mountain of Geesh, and the Church of St. Michael Geesh. "Immediately below us," says Bruce, "appeared the Nile itself, strangely diminished in size, and now only a brook that had scarcely water to turn a mill. I could not satiate myself with the sight, revolving in my mind all those classical prophecies that had given the Nile up to perpetual obscurity and concealment."

Bruce was roused from this revery by an alarm that Woldo the guide was missing. The servants could not agree when they saw him last. Strates the Greek, with another of the party, was in the wood shooting; but they soon appeared without Woldo. They said that they had seen some enormous shaggy apes or baboons without tails, several of which were walking upright, and they therefore concluded either that these creatures had torn Woldo to pieces, or that he was lagging behind for some purpose of treachery; however, while they were thus talking, Woldo was seen approaching, pretending to be very ill, and declaring that he could go no farther. Bruce was at this moment occupied in sketching a yellow rose-tree, several of which species were hanging over the river.

"The Nile," he says, "here is not four yards over, and not above four inches deep where we crossed; it was indeed become a very trifling brook, but ran swiftly over a bottom of small stones, with hard black rock appearing among them: it is at this place very easy to pass and very limpid, but a little lower, full of inconsiderable falls; the ground rises gently from the river to the southward, full of small hills and eminences, which you ascend and descend almost imperceptibly. The day had been very hot for some hours, and my party were sitting in the shade of a grove of magnificent cedars, intermixed with some very large and beautiful cusso-trees, all in flower; the men were lying on the grass, and the beasts fed with their burdens on their backs in most luxuriant herbage." Above was a small ford, where the Nile was so narrow that Bruce had stepped across it more than fifty times: it had now dwindled to the size of a common mill-stream.

When Woldo came to Bruce, he declared that he was too ill to proceed; but this imposition being detected, he then confessed that he was afraid to enter Geesh, having once killed several of its inhabitants; Bruce, however, gave him a very handsome sash, which he took, making many apologies. "Come, come," said Bruce, "we understand each other: no more words; it is now late; lose no more time, but carry me to Geesh and the head of the Nile directly, without preamble, and show me the hill that separates me from it. He then carried me round to the south side of the church, out of the grove of trees that surrounded it.... 'This is the hill,' says he, looking archly, 'that, when you were on the other side of it, was between you and the fountains of the Nile; there is no other. Look at that hillock of green sod in the middle of that watery spot; IT IS IN THAT THE TWO FOUNTAINS OF THE NILE ARE TO BE FOUND! Geesh is on the face of the rock where yon green trees are. If you go to the length of the fountains, pull off your shoes, as you did the other day, for these people are all pagans, worse than those who were at the ford; and they believe in nothing that you believe, but only in this river, to which they pray every day as if it were God; but this perhaps you may do likewise.'

"Half undressed as I was by loss of my sash, and throwing my shoes off, I ran down the hill towards the little island of green sods, which was about two hundred yards distant; the whole side of the hill was thick grown with flowers, the large bulbous roots of which appearing above the surface of the ground, and their skins coming off on treading upon them, occasioned me two very severe falls before I reached the brink of the marsh. I after this came to the altar of green turf, which was in form of an altar, apparently the work of art, and I stood in rapture over the principal fountain, which rises in the middle of it.

"It is easier to guess than to describe the situation of my mind at that moment—standing in that spot which had baffled the genius, industry, and inquiry of both ancients and moderns for the course of near three thousand years! Kings had attempted this discovery at the head of armies, and each expedition was distinguished from the last only by the difference of the numbers which had perished, and agreed alone in the disappointment which had uniformly and without exception followed them all. Fame, riches, and honour had been held out for a series of ages to every individual of those myriads these princes commanded, without having produced one man capable of gratifying the curiosity of his sovereign, or wiping off this stain upon the enterprise and abilities of mankind, or adding this desideratum for the encouragement of geography. Though a mere private Briton, I triumphed here, in my own mind, over kings and their armies! and every comparison was leading nearer and nearer to presumption, when the place itself where I stood, the object of my vainglory, suggested what depressed my short-lived triumph. I was but a few minutes arrived at the sources of the Nile, through numberless dangers and sufferings, the least of which would have overwhelmed me but for the continual goodness and protection of Providence. I was, however, but then half through my journey, and all those dangers which I had already passed awaited me again on my return: I found a despondency gaining ground fast upon me, and blasting the crown of laurels I had too rashly woven for myself."

There is nothing which stamps authenticity more strongly upon Bruce's narrative than the artless simplicity with which he writes; and it is only justice to infer, that he, who so honestly expresses what he feels, must be equally faithful in relating what he sees; for how many more inducements have we to conceal the truth in the one case than in the other! To describe what we see is an easy and no unpleasing task; but to unbosom our feelings is almost always to expose our weakness! But Bruce has no concealments; and his thoughts and sentiments, whatever they are, are always frankly thrown before his reader. How very natural are his feelings on reaching the fountains of the Nile, and what a serious moral do they offer! For a few moments he riots in the extravagance of his triumph, exulting that a Briton had done what kings and armies had been unable to accomplish; and yet he suddenly finds himself overpowered with a melancholy which, at such a moment, might first appear even more singular than any of the very extraordinary scenes which he had previously described; still, as the artless child of nature, how much real cause had he for such feelings! It may appear strange that Bruce should dread, on his return, dangers which, in advancing, he had so carelessly and daringly encountered; but he had then his object to gain: the inestimable prize was before him, to his ardent imagination decked with ten thousand charms, and beckoning to him to advance: when, however, he had reached the goal, he suddenly awoke as from a dream—the vision now vanishes—nothing remains before him but "a hillock of green sod;" and then, with Byron, he is ready to exclaim,

The Nile was no more an object of anxious curiosity. Bruce had no longer to fly towards its source on the light wings of expectation; but, like the bee laden with its honey, he must now carry his burden to his distant hive; and, thus freighted, his shattered frame worn by fatigue, exhausted by a burning sun, and no longer supported by the excitement of his mind, he naturally trembled at the dangers which threatened to intercept him.

The texture of the human mind is so delicately fine, that it is often affected by causes which to the judgment are imperceptible; and, although Bruce does not declare it, yet it is not improbable that his melancholy sprang mainly from the thought, how little, after all, his discovery was worth the trouble it had cost him. It had, it was true, "baffled the genius, industry, and inquiry of both ancients and moderns for near three thousand years," and it was equally true that "a mere private Briton had triumphed over kings and their armies;" but, after all, did the source of the Nile, in the great scheme of creation, rank as an object worthy of so much attention? What proportion did a puny rill, that might flow through a pipe of two inches in diameter, bear to that vast rolling mass of waters which gave fertility to Egypt? And again, Was the "hillock of green sod before him" actually the source of that immense river, or did it only nourish one of the innumerable streams which fed the "father of waters?" In short, had not human curiosity been pushed too far, and had it made any other discovery than of its own weakness?

Bruce, drooping, bending in despondency over the fountains of the Nile, forms a striking picture, strongly exemplifying the practical difference between moral and religious exertions; for although, among men, he had gained his prize, it may justly be asked, What was it worth? The course of a river is like the history of a man's life, and all of it that is useful is worth knowing; but the source of the one is as the birth of the other, and "the hillock of green sod" is the "infant mewling and puking in its nurse's arms."

Bruce, however, soon recovered from his despondency, though he could not reason it away; and he says, "I resolved, therefore, to divert it till I could, on more solid reflection, overcome its progress. I saw Strates expecting me on the side of the hill. 'Strates,' said I, 'faithful squire! come and triumph with your Don Quixote at that island of Barataria to which we have most wisely and fortunately brought ourselves! Come and triumph with me over all the kings of the earth, all their armies, all their philosophers, and all their heroes!' 'Sir,' says Strates, 'I do not understand a word of what you say, and as little what you mean: you very well know I am no scholar. But you had much better leave that bog: come into the house, and look after Woldo; I fear he has something farther to seek than your sash, for he has been talking with the old devil-worshipper ever since we arrived.' 'Come,' said I, 'take a draught of this excellent water, and drink with me a health to his majesty King George III., and a long line of princes.' I had in my hand a large cup, made of a cocoanut shell, which I procured in Arabia, and which was brimful.[31] He drank to the king speedily and cheerfully, with the addition of 'confusion to his enemies,' and tossed up his cap with a loud huzza. 'Now, friend,' said I, 'here is to a more humble, but still a sacred name; here is to—Maria!'[32]. He asked if that was the Virgin Mary. I answered, 'In faith, I believe so, Strates.' He did not speak, but only gave a humph of disapprobation. 'Come, come,' said I, 'don't be peevish; I have but one toast more to drink.' 'Peevish or not peevish,' replied Strates, 'a drop of it shall never again cross my throat: there is no humour in this—no joke. Show us something pleasant, as you used to do; but there is no jest in meddling with devil-worshippers, witchcraft, and enchantments, to bring some disease upon one's self here, so far from home, in the fields. No, no; as many toasts in wine as you please, or better in brandy, but no more water for Strates.'"

A number of the Agows had appeared upon the hill just before the valley, in silent astonishment at what Strates and Bruce could possibly be doing at the altar. Two or three, who came down to the edge of the swamp, had seen the grimaces and action of Strates; on which they asked Woldo, as he entered into the village, what was the meaning of all this? Woldo told them that the man was only out of his senses, having been bitten by a mad dog; with which they were perfectly satisfied, observing that he would be infallibly cured by the Nile, but that the proper mode of effecting the cure was to drink the water in the morning, fasting. "I was very well pleased," says Bruce, "both with this turn Woldo gave the action, and the remedy we stumbled upon by mere accident, which discovered a connexion, believed to subsist at this day, between this river and its ancient governor, the dog-star."

After this scene of affected cheerfulness, Bruce retired to his tent, where he was again haunted by the reflections which he had in vain endeavoured to shake off. He says, "Relaxed, not refreshed, by unquiet and imperfect sleep, I started from my bed in the utmost agony. I went to the door of my tent; everything was still; the Nile, at whose head I stood, was not capable either to promote or to interrupt my slumbers; but the coolness and serenity of the night braced my nerves, and chased away those phantoms that, while in bed, had oppressed and tormented me."

Bruce remained at Geesh four days, during which time he was constantly occupied in making various surveys and astronomical observations. "The hillock of green sod" is in the middle of a small marsh of about twelve feet in diameter, surrounded by a wall of sod, at the foot of which there is a narrow trench which collects the water. In the centre of this hillock there is a hole, filled with water, which has no ebullition or perceptible motion of any kind on its surface: this hole is about three feet in diameter and about six feet deep. At the distance of ten feet from the hillock there is a second small fountain, about eleven inches in diameter and eight feet deep; and at twenty feet there is another hole, some two feet broad and six feet deep. These holes or altars are surrounded by walls of sod, like the former. The water from all these unites; and the quantity, Bruce says, "would have filled a pipe of about two inches in diameter."

The result of about forty observations places these fountains in north latitude 10° 59' 25", and 36° 55' 30" east longitude. The mercury in the barometer stood at twenty-two inches, which indicates an altitude above the level of the sea of more than two miles. The thermometer, on the 6th of November, in the morning, was 44°, at noon 96°, and at sunset 46°.

Having now given the result of Bruce's observations, it is necessary to make a few general remarks upon the subject.

There is, perhaps, no geographical problem which has occupied the attention of so many ages as the discovery of the sources of the Nile. Had this river flowed through a rich and populous country, the information sought after would, like its waters, have descended rapidly from its source to its mouth; but in the great sandy desert of Nubia the problem of its origin was absorbed; and, thus flowing in mysterious solitude and silence, it reached Egypt, leaving its history behind it.

The curiosity, therefore, not only of the Egyptians, but of strangers of all countries, was constantly excited. The fruitless attempt of Cambyses to penetrate Ethiopia, the eager inquiries which Alexander is said to have made on his first arrival at the temple of Jupiter Ammon, and the expedition of Ptolemy Philadelphus, are the most ancient evidences of this curiosity.

If a river, like a canal, were as broad and valuable at one end as at the other, its source would be a point of as much importance as its mouth; but we have just seen what the source of a river is, and which may be defined as that point from which the most remote particle of its waters proceed.

In a populous country like England, where nearly every field has been the subject of a lawsuit, and where every one has been surveyed with the most scrupulous accuracy, the source of the Thames is of course no mystery; yet not one person out of a hundred thousand knows where it is, and for the reason that there is no practical use in the inquiry: all that one cares to know is how far the Thames is navigable; at what point, in short, it ceases to be useful to the community. But if this be the case in a highly civilized country, how wild a project must it appear to search for the source of a river through sands and deserts, and savage and barbarous nations, merely to determine from what particular spot its most distant drop of water proceeds! We might as well inquire, in an army of soldiers, which is the individual whose father or grandfather was born farthest from the capital: a question which some might call exceedingly curious, but which would certainly be very idle, and lead to endless and equally senseless discussion.

He who embarks in a useless enterprise is subject to disappointments which no rational being can lament; and, although we have hitherto supported Bruce in all his facts and feelings, in truth and justice we must now admit, that, of the above remark, this enterprising traveller is himself a most striking example; for, after all his trouble and perseverance, there can be no doubt, 1st, that the fountains of Geesh are not the real source of the Nile; and, 2dly, that Bruce was not the first European who visited even them.

A glance at any common map will show that, at about sixteen degrees, or eleven hundred miles, from the line, at the boundary of the tropical rains, the river Nile divides into two branches—the White river and the Blue river. The White river runs very nearly north and south; the Blue river, bending towards the east, comes from Ethiopia, or, as we term it, Abyssinia. Now a question naturally arises, Which of these two rivers is the principal stream? The Ethiopians have, of course, always claimed that distinction for the Blue river; and Cambyses, Alexander, Ptolemy, and almost every one down to Bruce, looked to Ethiopia for the sources of the Nile; but it is indisputably settled that the White river is the main branch or artery of the Nile. Nay, much to Bruce's honour, he himself admits this; and states not only that the White river is by far the larger and deeper of the two, but that it evidently proceeds from a more remote source; since, instead of periodically rising and falling as the Blue river does (which shows that the latter depends on the tropical rains), the waters of the White river are unceasingly flowing; which, as Bruce justly remarks, denotes that this river is fed by those distant rains which are known to be always falling in the neighbourhood of the equator. Our candid traveller adds, that if it were not for the constant supply of the White river, the waters of the Blue or Abyssinian river (which is formed by the union of three great streams, the Mareb, the Bowiha, and the TacazzÉ) would be absorbed in the sands of the desert of Nubia, and that the Nile would consequently never reach Egypt.

The real source of the Nile, therefore, still remains unknown, or, rather, it hangs in the equatorial clouds from which the rains that feed it descend.

Bruce, who had hazarded everything to solve the Quixotical problem of his day, naturally clings to the fact that the Blue river was in Abyssinia, and even in Sennaar considered as the true Nile. His statement has lately been corroborated by Burckhardt, who, in his Travels to Nubia in 1816, says, "It is usual with the native Arabs to call the branch of the river on which Sennaar lies, and which rises in Abyssinia, by the name Nil, as well as that of Bahr el Azrek (Blue river). Thus every one says that Sennaar is situated on the Nile; so far, therefore, Bruce is justified in styling himself the discoverer of the Nile; but I have often heard the Sennaar merchants declare, that the Bahr el Abyad (White river), which is the name invariably given to the more western branch, is considerably larger than the Nile."

But the Blue river was not only looked upon as the Nile in Nubia and Abyssinia; it had also been always so considered in Europe; and Bruce accordingly did reach the goal which human curiosity had so long been striving to attain.

In regard, however, to his having been the discoverer of the source of the Blue river, or Abyssinian Nile, it must also be admitted that Bruce was not the first European who visited it. Peter Paez, the intelligent Jesuit, whose career has been already noticed in our slight sketch of the history of Abyssinia, certainly visited, one hundred and fifty years before Bruce, these fountains, which he describes with very tolerable exactness; and although Bruce, eager and jealous, very naturally endeavours to detect small inaccuracies, yet it is perfectly evident that Paez's description is that of an eyewitness. Paez, it is true, says that the fountains "are about a league or a cannon-shot distant from Geesh;" whereas, on measuring this distance, Bruce found it to be only a third of a mile; but, in a strange country and atmosphere, conjectures as to distance are almost always erroneous; and a Jesuit's calculation of the range of a cannon-shot would not, probably, be anywhere very correct.

But, although Paez first saw and described the fountains of Geesh, it may fairly be said that Bruce was the first to impart the intelligence to the European public; for Paez's description, which was originally written in Portuguese, was published in Latin, after his death, by Athanasius Kircher, a brother Jesuit, well known for his extensive learning and his voluminous writings; and appearing in this form, and containing also a number of improbable statements, it made no progress beyond the little circle or society to which it was originally addressed.

It is undoubtedly true, that, in Bruce's time, the discovery of the source of the Abyssinian river was still the idle problem of the day; and therefore, although Paez had gone thither before him, and though Kircher had actually published Paez's account of these fountains, the intelligence had never reached the public ear, the fact having been unnoticed from the absurdities with which it was combined. In short, it is evident that to Bruce the public is practically indebted for the description (whatever it may be worth) of the "hillock of green sod," the source of the Bahr el Azergue, one of the great branches of the Nile.[33]

It must farther be admitted, that Bruce manfully performed his task; and his solid reputation can well afford, if necessary, to throw aside altogether the bawble for which, as a young man, he so eagerly and enthusiastically contended: the reader has only to glance his eye over the immense country he has delineated to perceive the justice of this remark. But to return to the narrative.

When Bruce first reached the fountains of Geesh, the miserable Agows eagerly assembled around Woldo, to inquire how long the party was to remain among them. Fasil's horse was quite sufficient to explain from whence the strangers had arrived; and it was consequently expected that they were to be maintained as long as they might think proper to stop. Woldo, however, soon dissipated all their fears. He told them of the king's grant of the village of Geesh to Bruce; and added, that he was come to live happily among them, to pay them for everything, and, moreover, that no military service would be required from them, either by the king or the governor of Damot. This joyful intelligence was quickly circulated among these simple people; and, when Bruce returned from the fountain, he met with a very hearty welcome at the village.

The shum, the priest of the river, gave up his own house to our traveller, and his attendants were lodged in four or five others. "Our hearts," says Bruce, "were now perfectly at ease, and we passed a very merry evening. Strates, above all, endeavoured, with many a bumper of the good hydromel of BurÉ, to subdue the evil spirit which he had swallowed in the enchanted water."

Woldo was also perfectly happy. Out of sight of everything belonging to Fasil except his horse, he displayed Bruce's articles for barter to the shum, to whom he explained that oxen and sheep would be paid for in gold. The poor shum, overpowered at the sight of so much wealth and generosity, told Woldo that he must insist that Bruce and his attendants should take his daughters as their housekeepers. "The proposal was," says Bruce, "a most reasonable one, and readily accepted. He accordingly sent for three in an instant, and we delivered them their charge. The eldest, called Irepone, took it upon her readily; she was about sixteen years of age, of a stature above the middle size, but she was remarkably genteel, and, colour apart, her features would have made her a beauty in any country in Europe: she was, besides, very sprightly; we understood not one word of her language, though she comprehended very easily the signs that we made."

The next day a white cow was killed, and every one was invited to partake of her. The shum should have been of the party, but he declined sitting or eating with the strangers, though his sons were not so scrupulous. He accordingly was left to pray to the Spirit of the River, which these poor, deluded people call "The Everlasting God, Light of the World, Eye of the World, God of Peace, Saviour, and Father of the Universe!"

Bruce asked the old shum if ever he had seen the Spirit; he answered, without hesitation, "Yes, very frequently!"

The shum, whose title was Kefla Abay, or "Servant of the River," was a man of about seventy. The honourable charge which he possessed had been in his family, he conceived, from the beginning of the world; and, as he was the father of eighty-four children, it would appear that his race was likely to flow as long as the Nile itself. He had a long white beard; and round his body was wrapped a skin, which was fastened by a broad belt. Over this he wore a cloak, the hood of which covered his head: his legs were bare, but he wore sandals, which he threw off as soon as he approached the bog from which the Nile rises; a mark of respect which Bruce and his attendants were also required to show.

The Agows, in whose country the Nile or Blue river rises, are, in point of number, one of the most considerable nations in Abyssinia, although they have been much weakened by their battles with the Galla tribes. They supply Gondar with cattle, honey, wheat, hides, wax, butter, &c. To prevent their butter from melting on the road, they mix with it the yellow root of an herb called mot-moco. This country, although within ten degrees of the line, is, from its elevation, healthy and temperate; the sun is, of course, scorching, but the shade is cool and agreeable. The Agows are said not to be long livers, but their precise age it is very difficult to ascertain. "We saw," says Bruce, "a number of women, wrinkled and sunburned, so as scarce to appear human, wandering about under a burning sun, with one, and sometimes two children upon their back, gathering the seeds of bent grass to make a kind of bread."

Kefla Abay, or "Servant of the River."

By the 9th of November Bruce had finished all his observations relating to these remarkable places: he traced again, on foot, the whole course of the Nile, from its source to the plain of Goutto.

"Our business," says he, "being now done, nothing remained but to depart. We had passed our time in perfect harmony; the address of Woldo, and the great attachment of our friend Irepone, had kept our house in a cheerful abundance. We had lived, it is true, too magnificently for philosophers, but neither idly nor riotously; and, I believe, never will any sovereign of Geesh be again so popular, or reign over his subjects with greater mildness. I had practised medicine gratis, and killed, for three days successively, a cow each day for the poor and the neighbours. I had clothed the high-priest of the Nile from head to foot, as also his two sons; and had decorated two of his daughters with beads of all the colours of the rainbow, adding every other little present they seemed fond of, or that we thought would be agreeable. As for our amiable Irepone, we had reserved for her the choicest of our presents, the most valuable of every article we had with us, and a large proportion of every one of them; we gave her, besides, some gold: but she, more generous and noble in her sentiments than we, seemed to pay little attention to these, which announced to her the separation from her friends; she tore her fine hair, which she had every day before braided in a newer and more graceful manner; she threw herself upon the ground in the house, and refused to see us mount on horseback or take our leave, and came not to the door till we were already set out; then followed us with her good wishes and her eyes as far as she could see or be heard.

"I took my leave of Kefla Abay, the venerable priest of the most famous river in the world, who recommended me, with great earnestness, to the care of his god, which, as Strates humorously enough observed, meant nothing else than that he hoped the devil would take me. All the young men in the village, with lances and shields, attended us to Saint Michael Sacala, that is, to the borders of their country and end of my little sovereignty."