He carried this weapon in his hand, as the trident with
which the old sea-god ruled the monsters of the deep; and as the
tall Arab patriarch of threescore years and ten, with his long
grey locks flowing over his brawny shoulders, stepped as lightly
as a goat from rock to rock along the rough margin of the river,
I followed him in admiration.
The country was very beautiful; we were within twenty miles of
lofty mountains, while at a distance of about thirty-five or
forty miles were the high peaks of the Abyssinian Alps. The
entire land was richly wooded, although open, and adapted for
hunting upon horseback. Through this wild and lovely country the
river Settite flowed in an ever-changing course. At times the bed
was several hundred yards wide, with the stream, contracted at
this season, flowing gently over rounded pebbles; the water was
as clear as glass; in other places huge masses of rock impeded
the flow of water, and caused dangerous rapids; then, as the
river passed through a range of hills, perpendicular cliffs of
sandstone and of basalt walled it within a narrow channel,
through which it rushed with great impetuosity; issuing from
these straits it calmed its fury in a deep and broad pool, from
which it again commenced a gentle course over sands and pebbles.
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