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THE Tacazze is a considerable river of Abyssinia, one of the chief tributaries of the Nile, or, more properly, one of its larger branches, and called Nile by Cosmas, an Alexandrian topographer of the sixth century. It takes its rise in the province of Tigré, in some wild and lofty mountains, inhabited by the Lasta, a predatory and martial tribe. It rises from three small springs, called by the natives, Ain Tacazze, "the eye or fountain of Tacazze." These springs empty themselves into a reservoir, whence the waters first issue in a collective stream. That enterprising but unfortunate Englishman, Nathaniel Pearce, remarked to Mr. Salt that when he stood on the brink of the reservoir, and threw a small piece of wood into the water, he could not help thinking how many regions it had to pass through before, traversing Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt, it could reach the ocean. Mr. Salt himself, to whose pencil we are indebted, remotely at least, for the accompanying engraving, writing with superior intelligence, describes his own feeling as being similar, when he first caught a sight of this river, not far from the source.

"I immediately ran forward, prompted by a sort of natural impulse, till we came to the edge of the stream, where, seated on the bank, I remained for some time contemplating with delight the smooth course of the waters gliding beneath. VOL. XVI. Second Series. N

It would be in vain for me to attempt a description of the tumult of ideas which, at this moment, rushed upon my mind. The various monuments of antiquity which I had seen in Egypt, and a whole chain of classical circumstances connected with the history of the Nile, were brought to my recollection ; while the idea that I was sitting by a branch of the same stream, though at the distance of eleven hundred miles from its junction with the sea, added in an extraordinary degree to the interest which such feelings inspired. While my attention was absorbed by these reflections, the noise of an hippopotamus rising to the surface, and the cry of our attendants, "Gomari, gomari,”—the Abyssinian name for the hippopotamus,—roused me from my meditations; and the sight of so rare and stupendous an animal speedily gave a new turn to my thoughts. The view we obtained of this creature was only instantaneous, and its action appeared to me at the moment greatly to resemble the rolling of a grampus in the sea."

In the lochs formed by this river in its very circuitous and irregular course among the mountains,—sometimes deep and still, and at other times broad and fordable; now divided by rocky islets; and again, united, dashing down rapids; or still and clear as crystal,-the unwieldly hippopotami delight to range. As their heads appeared above the water, our traveller and his attendants tried to shoot several of them; but their impenetrably hard skulls resisted the bullets.

Crocodiles, too, abound in the Tacazze. They are of an enormous size, and greenish colour. The natives entertain an extreme dread of these animals; so much so, that if one goes to the margin of the stream to wash his hands, he takes a companion with him to throw stones, for the sake of keeping off the crocodiles; and, although a crocodile is seldom to be seen in the shallower parts of the river, they cross the fords spear in hand, and making as much noise as possible, to prevent their approach. Yet it is remarkable that, although

the natives are so afraid of the crocodiles that inhabit the river, there are some who regard the river itself with a superstitious veneration. The Agows, a tribe that lives on its banks, conceive that it is exclusively their own; and will not, on any account, give of its water to quench the thirst of a

stranger. An Agow family will receive him hospitably into their hut, and supply him with the best that the hut affords; but he must be content to drink milk alone, for they will not suffer him to taste the sacred water. According to the local tradition, they once worshipped the Nile, and most probably continued to do so until their conversion to the deteriorated Christianity of the country, which conversion took place no earlier than about two centuries ago. We have the testimony of Plutarch that the Egyptians worshipped the Nile; and a remembrance of this fact, strongly attested, in confirmation of the testimony of the Greek historian, by the remaining superstition of the Agows, throws much light on many passages in the books of Genesis and Exodus. A similar instance of river-worship is noticed by Dr. Henderson, in his "Biblical Researches in Russia," who mentions a river in that country anciently worshipped, and still retaining the name Bog, or "god." All educated persons are familiar with the names of river-gods among the Romans and Greeks. In honour of the sources of rivers temples were built, and tauriform images erected; and it was held unlawful to bathe in rivers near the source, because the sacred stream would be polluted by the touch of a naked body. And the great example of river-worship still afforded by the Ganges, in India, scarcely leaves anything to be desired for the interpretation of that part of the Old Testament which tells of the river of Egypt. In the region through which the Tacazze passes before its junction with the Nile, exists the savage custom of eating raw flesh cut from the living beast. Bruce first related this custom, which was long thought incredible; but Salt confirms the statement in the following remarkable passage:

"While these transactions were passing, he" (Mr. Pearce) "went out with a party of the Lasta soldiers on one of their marauding expeditions; and, in the course of the day, they got possession of several head of cattle, with which, towards evening, they made the best of their way back to the camp. They had then fasted for many hours, and still a considerable distance remained for them to travel. Under these circumstances, a soldier attached to the party proposed 'cutting out the shulada' from one of the cows they were driving before

them, to satisfy the cravings of their hunger. This term Mr. Pearce did not at first understand; but he was not long left in doubt upon the subject, for, the others having assented, they laid hold of the animal by the horns, threw it down, and proceeded, without further ceremony, to the operation. This consisted in cutting out two pieces of flesh from the buttock, near the tail, which, together, Mr. Pearce supposes, might weigh about a pound; the pieces so cut out being called shulada, and composing, so far as I could ascertain, part of the two glutei maximi, or larger muscles of the thigh. As soon as they had taken these away, they sewed up the wounds, plastered them over with cow-dung, and drove the animal forwards, while they divided among the party the still reeking steaks." It is very common throughout Abyssinia to eat raw flesh, but the more enlightened Abyssinians are not unconscious that the practice of the shulada must be disgusting to foreigners, and would fain deny its existence, or, at least, have it forgotten; but Mr. Salt found so many witnesses, and was so well understood whenever he used the word, speaking in Amharic with the natives, that it cannot any longer be regarded as incredible.

Among other marks of wretchedness which appear on the banks of the Tacazze is Negro slavery. The Shangalla, or Negroes of those regions, are constantly exposed to the depredations of men-stealers; and so familiar are they with the calamity, that they teach their young children, as soon as they can speak, to sing, to a mournful strain, a song, which may afterwards be verified, and serve them as a remembrancer of the land of their birth. Mr. Salt wrote down one of the stanzas from the lips of a young Shangalla slave, and translated it thus :

"They come and catch us by the waters of the
Tacazze: they make us slaves.

Our mothers with alarm flee to the mountains;

And leave us alone in strange hands."

The same traveller received from one of the enslaved Shangalla the following account of the nation to which he belonged:-" :-"The tribe of which he had been a member was

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