CHAPTER XIV.

Disastrous Adventure with Abyssinians.— Akabah brings the Alarm. — Two of our Party surprised by a Hundred armed Abyssinians. — Making Friends. — Treachery of the Abyssinians. — Mahomet fearfully wounded. — The Search for him. — The Dembelas Tribe. — Contemplated Expedition against the Dembelas abandoned.

On the nth a most disastrous event occurred, and one which materially affected the remaining portion of our expedition. We had so far got on very well, and had had no serious drawbacks to the success of our journey, with the exception of poor Jules' death at Cassala. We had found our camp at Ma Ambasah the most picturesque and agreeable that we had yet formed ; and it promised to be most successful headquarters, from which to start in pursuit of game. No Europeans had been there before us. The Base were entirely unarmed, with the exception of their spears and shields ; and it was sufficiently far from the headquarters of the Beni-Amer tribe on the west, and the Abyssinians on the east, to have allowed the game to remain almost undisturbed.

Although it was only a small tract of country that enjoyed these advantages to the sportsman, they were advantages fully appreciated by us, who knew from the experience of two former winters the great difficulty of finding, in this part of Africa, territory containing an abundance of game,— of the larger game, I mean, antelopes being numerous in many other parts. A few years ago elephants and rhinoceri were plentiful in places that ii6