On the day following our arrival, I paid a visit to the Sheik of
Gallabat--Jemma. He was ill, as were most people. They were too
much accustomed to the use of the filthy water to trouble
themselves about a pure supply; thus a frightful amount of
sickness was prevalent among all classes.
The Sheik Jemma was a Tokroori; and as these people hate the
Turks or Egyptians, although fanatical Mussulmans, he was
exceedingly cold when he read my firman, that I had produced as
a passport. He replied to my demand for assistance in men and
camels, that "this was Abyssinia, and the firman of the Viceroy
of Egypt was a bad introduction, as the Egyptians forced them to
pay tribute at the point of the bayonet, although they had no
right to enter this country;" they paid taxes willingly to the
King of Abyssinia, as he had a right to exact them. I explained
that I was an Englishman, and no Turk, but that, as I had
travelled through the dominions of the Viceroy, I had been
favoured with the sign-manual of his Excellency Said Pasha, and
I narrated in a few words the object of our expedition. He paid
very little attention, and merely asked me if I could send him
some goat's milk, as he was very ill.
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