A Narrative Of Captivity In Abyssinia With Some Account Of The Late Emperor Theodore, His Country And People By Henry Blanc
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At Kourata A Few Empty Houses Were Put At Our Disposal, And We Went
To Work To Make These Dirty Native Dwellings Inhabitable.
It was
rumoured that Theodore intended to spend the rainy season in the
neighbourhood, and on the 4th he made a sudden visit; he was only
accompanied by a few of his chiefs.
He came and returned by water.
Ras Engeddah arrived about an hour before him. I was advised to go
and meet him on the beach; I therefore accompanied the Gaffat people,
who also went to present him their respects. His Majesty, on seeing
me, asked me how I was, if I liked the place, &c. No one ever knew
why he came. I believe, to judge for himself if the cholera was
raging there at the time or not, as he made many inquiries on the
subject.
On the 6th of June Theodore left Zage with his army; Mr. Rassam
and the other prisoners accompanied him; all the heavy baggage had
been sent by boat to Kourata. On the 9th, his Majesty encamped on
a low promontory south of Kourata. Cholera had by this time broken
out in the camp, and hundreds were dying daily. In the hope of
improving the sanitary condition of the army, the Emperor moved his
camp to some high ground a mile or so north of the town; but the
epidemic continued to rage with great virulence both in the camp
and in the town. The church was so completely choked up with dead
bodies that no more could be admitted, and the adjoining streets
offered the sad sight of countless corpses, surrounded by the
sorrowful relatives, awaiting for days and nights the hallowed grave
in the now crowded cemetery.
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