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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The Dalanta
People, Relying On His Promises, And Anxious To Get Rid Of His
Presence, Gave Him Every Assistance In
Their power, carrying his
baggage to the Amba, or working at the roads under his direction.
The honourable way in
Which he had kept his word with the people
of Dalanta induced the neighbouring district to send him deputations
begging for pardon, and offering to pay him tribute and send supplies
into his camp, if he would proclaim in their favour the same amnesty
he had granted to the Dalanta people. Had Theodore been wise, even
then he had a good opportunity of regaining part of his lost kingdom;
and had he continued to keep to his word, province after province,
disgusted with the cowardice of the rebels, would have returned to
him. But he was too fond of plundering: the peasants did not,
according to his ideas, send sufficient supplies; and as he knew
that the district was exceedingly rich in grain and cattle, regardless
of his oath, on the 17th of February, he gave orders for his soldiers
to plunder the peasants' houses.
Taken quite by surprise, very little resistance was offered. Theodore
succeeded beyond his expectations; corn and cattle were now in
abundance, and in order to economize his supplies, he allowed; all
the Gondar people who were still with him, and many of the women
and children of runaway soldiers and chiefs, to leave the camp and
go wherever they liked. Since Ohecheo he had formed the strongest
and hardiest of the women of his camp into a plundering band; he
was always much pleased with their bravery, and one of them having
killed a petty chief, and brought to him the sword of her adversary,
he was so delighted that he gave her a title of rank and presented
her with one of his own pistols.
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