Thus for more than two years Mastiate was left in undisturbed
possession of the supremacy vested in her by the unanimous consent
of the chiefs, a regent for her son until he attained his majority.
Menilek, after his escape, had no easy task before him: the chief
who had headed the rebellion in the name of his king, after the
gallant repulse and the check he inflicted upon Theodore, declared
himself independent--became the Cromwell instead of the Monk of
Abyssinia. Menilek was, however, well received by a small party of
faithful adherents; Workite had also been accompanied by a small
force of trusty followers; and on a large number of the chiefs
abandoning the usurper and joining the standard of Menilek, he
marched against the powerful rebel, who still held the capital and
many strong places, utterly defeated his army and made him a prisoner.
This victory was shortly afterwards followed by the complete
submission of Shoa to his rule; chief after chief made their
obedience, and all acknowledged as their king the grandson of Sahela
Selassi. Once his rights admitted by his people, he led his army
against the numerous Galla tribes who inhabit the beautiful country
extending from the south-eastern frontier of Shoa to the picturesque
lake of Guaragu. But, instead of plundering these agricultural
races, as his father had done, he promised them honourable treatment,
a kind of mild vassalage, on the payment of a small annual tribute.
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