Settite.

The Settite is the river par excellence, as it is the principal stream
of Abyssinia, in which country it bears the name of "Tacazzy." Above
the junction the Athara does not exceed two hundred yards in width. Both
rivers have scooped out deep and broad valleys throughout their course.
This fact confirmed my first impression that the supply of soil had been
brought down by the Atbara to the Nile. The country on the opposite or
eastern bank of the Atbara is contested ground. In reality it forms
the western frontier of Abyssinia, of which the Atbara River is the
boundary; but since the annexation of the Nubian provinces to Egypt
there has been no safety for life or property upon the line of frontier;
thus a large tract of country actually forming a portion of Abyssinia is
uninhabited.

Upon our arrival at Sofi we were welcomed by the sheik, and by a
German, Florian, who was delighted to see Europeans. He was a sallow,
sickly-looking man, who with a large bony frame had been reduced from
constant hard work and frequent sickness to little but skin and sinew.
He was a mason, who had left Germany with the Austrian mission to
Khartoum, but finding the work too laborious in such a climate, he and a
friend, who was a carpenter, had declared for independence, and they had
left the mission. They were both enterprising fellows, and sportsmen;
therefore they had purchased rifles and ammunition, and had commenced
life as hunters. At the same time they employed their leisure hours in
earning money by the work of their hands in various ways.

I determined to arrange our winter quarters at Sofi for three months'
stay, during which I should have ample time to gain information and
complete arrangements for the future. I accordingly succeeded in
purchasing a remarkably neat house for ten piastres (two shillings).
The architecture was of an ancient style, from the original design of a
pill-box surmounted by a candle extinguisher. I purchased two additional
huts, which were erected at the back of our mansion, one as the kitchen,
the other as the servants' hall.

In the course of a week we had as pretty a camp as Robinson Crusoe
himself could have coveted. We had a view of about five miles in extent
along the valley of the Atbara, and it was my daily amusement to scan
with my telescope the uninhabited country upon the opposite side of the
river and watch the wild animals as they grazed in perfect security. We
were thoroughly happy