Two men
sit in front, and one behind. They use long sticks, instead of oars,
beating the water alternately to the right and left; at each stroke
they send in front and from behind jets of spray like a shower-bath,
and the unfortunate occupant of the boat, who had beforehand taken
off his shoes and stockings and well tucked up his trousers, finds
that he would have been wiser had he adopted a more simple costume
still, and followed the example of the naked boatmen.
The Abyssinian navy does not weigh heavily on the estimates, nor
does it take years to construct a fleet; two days after our arrival
fifty new vessels had been launched, and several hundreds had joined
from Zage and the Isle of Dek.
The few days we spent on the shore of the Tana Sea were among the
small number of happy ones we have seen in this country. Samuel,
now our balderaba (introducer) and chief of the escort, did not
allow the former crowds to invade my tent. Being an intelligent
man, and his relatives and friends less numerous than those of his
predecessor, he only brought to me those he knew would benefit by
a few doses of medicine, or whom he was compelled to introduce; for
by refusing the petty chiefs and important men of the several
neighbouring districts he would have made serious enemies. It was
now a recreation, instead of a fatigue; a study of the diseases of
the country; a fact almost impossible, before, when I could only
defend myself against the importunities of a crowd, and in peace
not examine a single case.
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