Our small
tent arrived in time, our servants had carried with them a few
provisions, and we managed to make a frugal meal; but only one or
two of the best baggage mules made their appearance, so that we had
to lie on the bare ground--those best off on leathern skins. It was
five days after our arrival at Magdala before a small portion of
our luggage arrived, and until then we could not even change our
clothes, and had nothing to protect ourselves against the cold
nights of the rainy season. Early on the morning of the 11th we
continued our ascent, and soon reached the splendid plateau of
Dahonte. This small province is but a large circular plain about
twelve miles in diameter, covered at the time of our journey, with
fields in all stages of cultivation, and with beautiful green
meadows, where grazed thousands of heads of cattle, and where mules,
horses, and innumerable flocks everywhere meet the eye. The whole
circumference of this plain is dotted with small rounded hillocks,
and from their base to the summit numerous well-built villages
arise. Dahonte is certainly the most fertile and picturesque district
I have seen in Abyssinia.
By noon we reached the eastern extremity of the plateau, and there
before us again appeared one of those awful chasms we had encountered
twice on our road since leaving Debra Tabor.
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