the founding of addis ababa cit1

8/10/2019 The Founding of Addis Ababa Cit1

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The founding of Addis Ababa City

By RICHARD K. P. PANKHURST

Visitors toAddis Ababa at the turn of the century were far from imagining that Meneliks capital founded a fewyears earlier was destined within the space of little more than fifty years to become the most populous city between

Cairo and Johannesburg. Ethiopias dramatic defeat of the Italiansat the battle of Adowa in 1896 had not fullydispelled the doubt as to whether an independent African state could survive in the age of the scramble for Africa.

Moreover, most European observers believed that the Ethiopian capital was only a temporary headquarters of themonarch and would be abandoned within a few years, as had been the case of earlier Shoan capitals, such as

Ankober, Angolala and Entotto.

According to Guebre Selassies Chronicle of the Reign of Menelik, the houses at Entotto, though well constructed,

were very cold. At the end of the rainy season in 1885 (European calendar), the Emperor and Empress accompaniedby their retinue descended the mountain to enjoy the hot springs of Filwoha where a large number of tents were

erected. The Empress Taitu admiring the beauty of the scenery from the door of her tent and remarking the softnessof the climate, asked the Emperor to give her land to build a house there. He replied, Begin by building a house;

after that I will give you a country. Where shall I build my house ? she inquired. In this spot, he replied,which my father, King Sahle Selassie, surrounded with a fence: go there, and begin your house. On that spot Sahle

Selassie like the prophet Mikias made the following prophecy: One day as he sat under that great tree, not far fromMeouat, hydromel was brought to him while he was playing chess, as was his custom. Suddenly he said, One day

my grandson will build here a house and make of you a city. It was, the Chronicle declares, the will of God,for that very week Taitu decided to construct the house ; her servant received orders to start at once; the work began,

and not long afterwards a beautiful edifice was erected. In the following year, again according to the Chronicle,Taitu left Entotto and installed herself in her new house by the hot springs. Then began the building of the town.

Every chief was allocated an allotment on which to build his dwellings. The country was beautiful. The armyloved staying there. And it was Woizero Taitu herself who ordered that the town should be given the name of Addis

Ababa.

The diary of Jules Borelli for 1887 contains a number of interesting allusions to the movement of Meneliks court ;

it suggests that the new site was only slowly gaining favor On June 22 the diarist declares his intention of visitingMenelik who is apparently at Filwoha. On October 13 he reports that the Emperor has again left for the springs. On

the following day, however, he says that he went there and found that Menelik and all his retinue except the Abunahad returned to the Ghebbi or Palace at Entotto. The next day he refers to the Abuna camping at the prairy of

Filwoha. On October 28 and 30 he relates that he has met several members of the Court at the springs. OnNovember 3 he records a rumor he has heard that Menelik is returning from Filwoha to his Ghebbi at Entotto. On

the following day his entry contains a reference to the existence of two royal residences, one at Entotto, the other atFilwoha. Menelik, he goes on, has decided that Filwoha shall henceforth bear the name of Addis Ababa (or

New Flower ). Borellis comment is skeptical in the extreme ; he remarks that Taitus fantasy, as he calls it, willsoon pass ; the Emperor, he adds, had first gone to Filwoha several years earlier to enjoy the hot springs ; then he

had abandoned them, and only returned there on Taitus account.
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The Ethiopian Chronicle tells that at about this time magnificent works were commenced, among them a house worthy of admiration for the government.

At the end of 1892 work began on the Palace, the foundation stones of the Elfin or main dwelling, being laid on 13Hedar, and of the Aderash, or principal reception hall, nine days later. Building proceeded so fast that it has been

said no fewer than fifty edifices were erected in three months. The Chronicle declares that by 1894 the Palace was

virtually complete ; Menelik ordered that the waters of high Entotto be brought to the Ghebbi by pipe ; the pipingsystem, which cost 7,000 thalers, made available two fully adequate supplies of water, one for drinking, the other forwashing purposes. The latter supply, declares the Chronicle, was used to water the Palace gardens, as well as to

wash the clothes of the Court and guards. Until that time it had been necessary to go down to the near-by stream onwashing day.

The Chronicle subsequently relates that in 1897 Menelik brought European engineers and workers to build in thePalace compound a huge Adarash or reception hall with a three gabled roof. Though it was about 60 meters in length

and 30 wide, the Emperors army could not all enter at the same time. One man, it appears, jokingly expressed thehope that the whole sky might be a single piece of bread which he could have all for his own, but his friend replied,

If you had such a piece of bread, God would send you as many table companions as there are stars ! As thenumber of soldiers increased Menelik arranged for the workers to build a new Adarash six times as wide. A number

of other houses were also erected for preparing and storing bread, meat and hydromel. The three-gabled Adarash,

the Chronicle explains, contained a single huge room, and outside on each roof one saw fifty goullelat each with anostrich egg. During the rains water poured into the carefully built gutters like a torrent. Inside the building sixteenclusters of electric lights illumined the hall so brightly that it was said one was dazzled as by the rays of the sun.

There were also windows with red, green, yellow and blue panes, as well as a stained-glass window depicting theCross of the Apostles surrounded by vine branches and squares of divers colors The roof was supported within by

thirty-four pillars of various colors while the walls were covered with marble on which representations of vinebranches had also been painted. The whole presented a most splendid aspect. When the work of construction was

finished, a superb throne was placed in position which shone as gold and was surmounted by a crown, stars andother ornaments which gave the ensemble a marvelous appearance. This wonderful edifice, the Chronicle

declares, could hold six thousand nine hundred and eighty seven persons ; bread was brought by some hundred andtwenty waiters, hydromel by between a hundred and a hundred and thirty and meat by as many again. It was

customary for two doors to be used so that one assembly of diners could enter as another left, the banquet beingconsumed not only by the Emperors soldiers, but by peasants who had come to receive justice, as well as by many

other visitors. Menelik was ever a town-planner. In the Ethiopian year 1893 (European calendar, September, 1900 toSeptember, 1901) he laid the foundations of a new town at Mietta ; the construction, Guebre Sellassie declares, was

superb, above all the Palace which was built in a very unusual style. The new town, according to H. Le Roux, owedits name, like that of Addis Ababa, to Empress Taitu who chose for it Addis Alem, or New World. The title was

significant. The Chronicle says it was found less beautiful than Addis Ababa and was only intended as a wintercapital to avoid the heavy rains of Addis Ababa and also to obtain a better supply of wood. Foreigners, however,

long thought that the forests surrounding Addis Alem would eventually induce Menelik to make that town thecapital of the new Ethiopian world. The Italians were so fully convinced of this that they went so far as to start

building a legation at Addis Alem.

It is interesting in this connection to examine the writings of contemporary foreign observers who were almost

unanimous in proclaiming the impossibility of Addis Ababa remaining the capital of Ethiopia. Lieut.-ColonelWingate, who accompanied the Rennell Rodd mission to Menelik, reported, as a result of his observations in 1897,

that it was widely declared the capital would soon move to Mietta on the west of Entotto. Gradually, he related, all

the wood in the vicinity of the capital had been cut down and consumed, and it had been necessary to start using theforest of Mount Menagesha some fifteen miles away : When the distance from the forest becomes inconvenientlygreat the capital must be removed elsewhere. Henry Vivian, writing four years later, declared wood was then being

brought a distance of sixteen miles and it is certain that within a very short space of time Menelik will be obliged toshift his capital once more to the neighborhood of fresh woods. A. B. Wylde, reporting at about the same time, said

that, having revisited the town twice within eighteen months, I found it had grown larger . . . perhaps this immensestraggling settlement has seen its best days, and some new place will be chosen as headquarters, as it is now nearly

impossible to procure firewood for the wants of the inhab itants. As long as a large standing army at headquartersis kept up, this settlement is shortly doomed.


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Foreign commentators who foretold the demise of Addis Ababa had in mind the fate of Entotto which had beenalmost completely abandoned though Menelik and his Court still paid occasional visits to the Church of St. Raguel

there. Gleichen reported that at Entotto he had only seen a handful of huts, the ruin of an exceedingly strongfortress and the two churches of St. Raguel and St. Mariam, while Vivian declared only two churches and a few

brown ruins remained of a town which must have comprised fifty thousand souls. Menelik decided, however, tosave Addis Ababa, which was probably essential if his plans for the modernization and development of Ethiopia

were to be carried to fruition. The Chronicle relates an incident which occurred during the rainy season of 1902.Menelik had left Addis Ababa on account of the rains, but on arriving at Addis Alem he ordered the edifice which

had been begun for the use of the Court should be converted into a church. The kingdom of heaven, he declared, is worth more than the kingdom of earth. By thus offering to heaven the new church, fashioned as the Chronicle

says in a new style which had never before been seen in Ethiopia, Menelik retained Addis Ababa as the capital of hiskingdom on earth. Immediately after the rains the Emperor gave orders to construct a road from Addis Alem to the

capital which the Chronicle likens to those of the Ferengi (Europeans), observing that it made possible for AddisAbaba to obtain an adequate supply of wood and other necessities. The permanence of the capital was thus assured.

Later a more prolific source of timber was discovered in the swift growing eucalyptus imported from Australia.When felled to the ground this remarkable tree quickly pushes up new stems as strong and virile as the original. The

decision to hold fast to Addis Ababa marked a new era in Ethiopian history. In the old days it had been extremelydifficult to administer a large empire from a single center because the mountainous nature of the terrain made

speedy and efficient communications extremely difficult and because the relatively large army, accompanied by itscamp followers, proved a heavy drain on the available supplies of fuel and foodstuffs. It had therefore been

customary to have a series of temporary capitals, though this necessarily militated against the development of amore scientific system of administration. To develop a modern state Menelik had to have a fixed capital.

Addis Ababa was all the while evolving, reflecting the progress and development of the country as a whole. It wasthus the scene of daring innovation which went hand in hand with ceaseless expansion. The Chronicle tells us that at

the turn of the century talk began of constructing a railway. The telephone between the capital and Harar, which hadbeen begun by French engineers in 1897, was working by 1899. P. H. G. Powell-Cotton, in a book published in

1902, has left a description of the first telegraph office, which, he says, was under the supervision of a Swissengineer, M. Muhle. Situated in a large circular building it contained the latest inventions in telegraphic and

telephonic apparatus lying side by side with a few amole or salts and a pile of cartridge cases (both empty andfull), which have been received in payment for messages sent. Beside the instruments in use, materials of all sorts

are scattered aboutcells, insulators, receivers, call-bells, and so on ; for here are kept the supplies for the smallerstations between this and Ha The Ethiopian year 1896 (September, 1903 to September, 1904) was another milestone

in the progress of the Ethiopian State. In that year, according to the Ethiopian Chronicle, the capital saw a steam-engine for the first time. It was actually a small locomotive which ran between Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa. Before

the year was out Menelik had constructed a mint for the production the new Ethiopian currency which had appearedin 1893 to replace the old Maria Theresa dollar, but had hitherto been minted in Paris.

Menelik was successfully laying the foundations of the future in both an administrative and an urban sense.

Vivian noted, for example, that Addis Ababa already covered some fifty square miles and contained a very

large population which has never been number. By mule three -quarters of an hour at least are necessary for apilgrimage from the British Agency to the Palace and as much again to the market, though in either of these

journeys you must cross three or four deep ravines with stony, precipitous banks and a torrent bed full of slipperyboulders. Vivians account is revealing also in that it depicts something approaching a fervor of constructional

work. He declares with surprise that he had seen a newly erected rail which had been laid for the purpose ofconveying goods and building material to and fro. The Emperor, he relates, had also introduced wheelbarrows to

speed up progress, though often the laborers only made use ofthem when they were under their masters eye.Directly they were left to their own devices, they hastened to return to their accustomed method of carrying things

on their backs Wylde describes the capitals stone quarry where laborers were at work blastin g lime-stone rockwhile Arab and Indian masons were dressing stone. These men, he declared, had come from Aden and were

getting much higher wages than they could procure there. They told me they also received rations from the king, andthat they were saving nearly all their pay. The blocks of stone they were dressing were intended for the construction

of the kings private dwelling, and this work and the road-making were the first examples of what the present ruler is


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doing to improve his surroundings. The chief stores and artillery depot were also built of stone. A more significantinfluence on Addis Ababa architecture was Alfred Ilg, whom Menelik had appointed Conseiller dEtat. Ilg

popularized wooden balconies, reminiscent of the chalets of his native Switzerland, there by creating a style of woodand stone building which was to remain for a generation to come, thus giving the Ethiopian capital a very distinctive

appearance.

By examining the contemporary descriptions of the new town it is possible to build up a fairly comprehensivepicture of it. Wylde, for example, recognized that its site was well chosen, from the point of view of its watersupply. He observed that two streams, which descended from the highlands to the north and west and met in a valley

about three miles to the south east of the Ghibbi, always contained a plentiful supply of water which enabled thePalace to be supplied by pipe, the stream utilized being tapped at a higher elevation, so it requires no pumping.

Count Gleichen was equally impressed by the climate ; he declared it was perfect, and far superior to bleak andhilly Entotto which was only reached by a very hilly road and tended to be far too cold at night, as well as being

from time to time the scene of thunderstorms, perhaps attracted by neighboring ridges of ironstone.

All the travelers agreed that the most conspicuous sight on approaching the capital, and the one which first caught

the eye, was the Emperors enclosure built at the end and on the highest part of an out-jutting lower spur of theEntotto mountains. There they caught their first glimpse of Meneliks red-tiled Palace, surrounded by a plantation of

sycamore trees. Captain M. S. Wellby, who arrived just when Menelik was about to set forth on one of his

campaigns, declares that on all sides he saw extraordinary numbers of mules, ponies and donkeys grazing onthe excellent pasturage, and in the most suitable spots villages of canvas had been pitched, all indicative of thekings impending march into the Tigre.

Wyldes account, which is complementary to that of Wellby, declares that at the foot of the Ghibbi there is lowerland in which are situated the hot springs of Filwoha, generally with a thin cloud of steam hanging over them, and

quite close to these a small pond and water meadow belonging to the king . . . We could see groups of soldiers tentsdotted over the landscapes belonging to the men of the numerous military leaders of other districts that had come to

pay their respects to the king, and through my glasses I could see a constant stream of people both mounted and onfoot going to and from the kings palace, which seemed densely crowded with a mass of specks like the smallest of

ants, in fact the hill might be likened to an ant-heap with its busy workers going backwards and forwards.

Lieut-Colonel Reginald Wingate has left a detailed account of the Ghibbi at this time :

The dwelling-house is called the Elfin, a two-storeyed white-washed building about forty-five feet high ; the roofis red-tiled, and the various windows and balconies are painted in several colorsgreen, yellow, red and blue.

Besides this building there are : the aderash, or principal hall of reception, a large oblong construction capable ofaccommodating six hundred or seven hundred persons ; the saganet or clock-tower, where the Emperor dispenses

justice on two days during the week, and the gouda, or depot, a white building which serves as the Emperorsstorehouse.

In addition to these buildings there are, within the royal enclosure, the workshops, arsenal, carpenters shop, etc.,and a private chapel.

All around the Ghibbi are grouped the enclosures of the principal men of State, officers, and others, the importanceof the individual being measured by the size of the enclosure and the number of the smaller huts grouped around it.

All the huts in the town are of the same form, circular or elliptical, with thatched conical roofs ; there are very fewtwo-storied buildings ; but some of the houses, more notably those of the Europeans, are oblong in shape, and the

roofs are of the ordinary shape, with three or four small peaks capped with circular moulds, serving the doublepurpose of keeping the thatch in position, and of ornament. Almost every Ras or Governor of a province, has his

compound in Addis Ababa, and the hut accommodating generally an insufficient number of followers, it issupplemented by tents of all shapes and sizes.

The capital therefore presents the appearance of a gigantic camp, and this is actually what it is.


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Nevertheless Addis Ababa was never conceived in the military terms of previous Ethiopian capitals. Gleichen, forexample, was careful to note that the old fortress at Entotto had possessed two parapets and had been surrounded by

a ditch which formed a complete defence in itself ; the Addis Ababa Ghibbi, on the other hand, presented no suchmarked features of defence : all it has consists of a palisade about fifteen feet highnot particularly strongand

two internal stone walls. Perhaps it is because Menelik wisely desires to rule by love and not by fear.

Gleichen has given us a glimpse of the old St. Georges Cathedral which was later replaced by the one which standsin Addis Ababa today. The Church, he tells us, was of the ordinary circu lar shape, on a hill about a mile fromthe Palace and close by the market-place. It possessed an elaborate episcopal gilt cross on the top, and inside

pictures of all sorts of sacred subjects. Beside the work of Ethiopians depicting the lives of notable saints there was a representation of the Day of Judgment, the Emperor (an excellent portrait) occupying a prominent position amid

the prophets, saints and other worthies. There were in addition four or five pictures presented by the Russian RedCross Mission as gifts from the Tsar : good modern ecclesiastical oil paintings of the Greek Church.

Another important church described by foreign travelers was the Sellassie, or Trinity, Church. This P. H. G. Powell-Cotton found, was a thatched circular building surmounted by an elaborate gilt cross. A raised, open verandah

surrounded the sacred edifice, the wall of which was hung with colored chintz. Several large doors led into theinterior, the center of which was occupied by a square structure reaching to the roof, thus leaving but a narrow space

outside it for worshipers This is the holy of holies, in which the ark containing the holy books is kept, and may only

be entered by one of the officiating priests. The whole exterior of this shrine was covered with highly coloredreligious prints, pinned on to the wall. Among these were two or three European paintings on canvas and a fewspecimens of Ethiopian art. The most interesting portion of the church was the vestry, situated in a sort of crypt.

Here were piled in open chests, hung on nails or cords, or stacked in corners, the most extraordinary collection ofgorgeous-colored vestments, mitres, crutches, umbrellas, sacred books, sistrums, drums, incense-burners,

processional crosses, and all the properties used in the elaborate ritual of the Ethiopian Church, in fact a perfectmuseum of curiosities . . . How I should have liked to spend a week turning over and examining these treasures ! but

no such luck : the priests hustled us out, after permitting us only a hurried glimpse at them.

Foreign observers were always keen on visiting the market which was held on a slope of the hill going down toward

the Palace. The market conducted business every day except Sunday ; the busiest day was Saturday, when from theearly morning villagers came from all quarters and might be seen driving their donkeys and mules laden with goods

for sale. Powell-Cotton who knew many of the most famous markets of the East, declared that of Addis Ababa the

most interesting. There one obtains a truer notion of the productive powers of the country in both raw materials andmanufactured articles, and can learn better what foreign goods find a ready sale among the people than in any of themany markets I have seen in the four continents. To the market-place at Addis Ababa come grains and spices,

peppers and condiments from every corner of the kingdom, coffee from Harar and Lake Tsana, cotton from the

banks of the Blue Nile, gold from Beni Shangul, and civet from the Oromo country, while salt from the far north of

Tigre is the current change for a dollar. Fine cotton shammas, heavy burnooses of black, blanket-like cloth, jeweleryand arms, saddlery and ploughs, all are here. Vivian was amazed by the density of the mob who seemed to

allow scarcely a square foot to spare anywhere. The vast concourse was made up of a multitude of persons sitting

in the open air in rows according to the materials they had to sell, their goods either displayed on the ground, or in

shallow baskets in front of them. Purchasers and loafers, Powell-Cotton relates wander about between the rows,and a noisy hum of voices goes on all day. Up aloft in a straw sentry-box sits the Nagadi Ras, or head of the

merchants, whose business it is to superintend the market, put a stop to quarrels and settle all disputes that arebrought before him. The greater part of the market was devoted to the sale of the commonest articles and

provisions, grain, grass, sheepskins, fuel, cottons from America, Manchester or India, and German and Italian

hardware.

Captain Wellby considered one of the most interesting corners was where hundreds of ponies were assembled. Theirfiner points being discussed by vendors and experts. He also had something to say of the woodsellers who often had

to carry their turbs or long pieces of wood from a distance of fifteen miles, the sellers of honey who sold theirwares at a dollar for 8 lbs., and the various vendors of grain who brought in principally barley and tieff, but also

peas, oats, rice and linseed. There are also for sale, he added, silver trinkets, cloth, beads, cartridge-belts, files,skins, leather straps (machanya), saddles, inferior knives, various articles made of iron, hardware, and so forth, and

lastly fowls, sheep and cattle. One is much struck by the appearance of the women who throng the market, for many


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of them are exceedingly pretty.

Power-Cottons description of the market is perhaps the most exhaustive. The jewelery section, he declares

contained thick silver-rings, which are threaded and worn round the neck, womens ear-rings in the form of highlyornamented solitaire studs, generally gilt, and curious ear-rings worn only by men who have killed an elephant,

which are fashioned like elaborate finger-rings, sometimes with little chains pendant to them. There are also hairpins

with filigree heads, like those used for womens hats at home, tiny ear-picks in the form of spoons with handles ofvariegated shapes and patterns, bracelets and rings, necklets of fine chain, and little charm-boxes as pendants, aswell as crosses, plain or of filigree-work. . . .

Next to the raw-hide market, where you may usually find some leopard skins and occasionally a lions pelt, areestablished the vendors of imported dressed and dyed leather, colored to bright reds and greens for the decoration of

saddles, bridles, and cartridge belts. There also are for sale the large, soft sleeping-skins which every Ethiopian lovesto possess, and leather sacks for holding personal luggage while traveling by mule. In the crowded corner devoted to

the sword-sellers you may see a petty chief, with one or two trusty followers, testing the blade of the big, straightsword taken from the Dervishes, which will fetch as much as ten to fifteen dollars. Close by, other purchasers are

examining the curve of an Ethiopian sword in its bright red scabbard, or perhaps choosing one from a pile of Frenchblades made for the Ethiopian market. . . .

Nearby at another stall, are exposed for sale circular convex shields of black buffalo hide, those for the populaceornamented by geometrical figures stamped on the leather, while those borne by officers are decorated with strips

and bosses of silver, or of silver-gilt for the higher ranks. . . .

Near the top of the hill one long alley is devoted to cotton goods from America, India and Manchester. Lancashire,

I regret to say, supplies by far the smallest quantity, for the English manufacturer will neither make the quality nor

supply the lengths required in Ethiopia. The money-changers quarter, he continues, is perhaps one of the most

striking, for instead of piles of copper, coin and cowries, as in India, one sees stacks of amolethe Ethiopiancurrency. These are bars of crystallized salt, some ten inches long by rather more than two inches wide in the center,

with slightly tapering ends bound round by a band of rush. In the capital four of them are equivalent to the dollar,but their value varies in different parts of the country. . . .

The red pepper and the butter bazaars were not places in which to linger, the former on account of the particles

getting into ones eyes and nostrils and acting like pungent snuff, and the latter on account of the strong, rancidsmell. . . .

Beside all the commodities I have named there were to be found, each in its own market, coffee -beans, sugar, wax

and honey, tej and tella (mead and beer), stored in great jars called gombos, large shawls called shammas, ironploughshares, knives and spears, rhinoceros-hide whips, bamboos for tent-poles, bundles of split wood ten feet long

for building huts, little bundles of long, tough grass for thatching or larger ones for fodder, overgrown faggots forfuel, tobacco for chewing and in the form of snuff (for the Ethiopian does not smoke), every kind of grain for bread,

and divers condiments for flavoring

On a flat stretch of ground on the southern side of the market is the mule and horse fair ; here may be seen horses

galloped by wild-looking men, with their shammas streaming behind them and the rhinoceros-hide whip in full play.Presently the owner espies a likely purchaser, and instantly the horse is stopped and thrown back on its haunches.

Mules are being examined for traces of old sore backs, and the air is filled with the shouting, wrangling, andbargaining inseparable from the buying and selling of a horse. The Ethiopians have an excellent rule, that before a

bargain is complete, the vendor and the purchaser must together lead their beast before an official, who registerstheir names, witnesses the paying over of the money, and exacts a fee from both parties to the contract. No horse

may be sold for more than fifty dollars, but a mule may go up to three hundred. The author of the above catalogueelsewhere discusses the foreign traders who had found their way to the new capital. There were already, he declares,

four or five French merchants, the most importantbeing M. Savore who had just opened a new house and shop, agood many Greeks, who dealt largely in liquors and scents, a few Armenians, one of whom was a baker, and a

Swiss watchmaker. The premises of the Greek and Indian merchants were mainly situated to the south-east of the


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town, just below the market. The latest arrivals were several new Indian firms. The proprietors owing to theirthrifty habits were rapidly taking the trade from both French and Greeks, and finding a ready sale for goods in

respect of which it was thought there would be no demand. Instead of sending cash to the coast they lay it out inivory, civet and gold, and so obtain a double profit. One of the most interesting Greeks was Balambaras Giorgis, a

curio dealer, who had served in Meneliks victorious army at Adowa, the only European to do so. AnotherEthiopianised foreigner was an Irishman, McKelvie who had remained in the country since the time of Theodore,

had married an Ethiopian wife and dressed in a shamma.

Vivian corroborated this account of the success of the Indians ; he declared they were completely cutting out the

French merchants who have already begun to complain bitterly about the competition. The fact is that an Indian cantravel about with one servant and a minimum of baggage, whereas a French merchant travels like a prince, with a

great retinue and every conceivable luxury. Moreover, the Frenchmen give themselves ridiculous airs. One of theirshopkeepers, who had been summoned to the Palace, sent in after ten minutes to say that he could not wait any

longer. The Indians also derive considerable assistance from the weekly post, which any British subject is allowed touse, while the French postal service is unsafe and irregular. The French, he added, expect t oo much too quickly

and were not unknown to adopt sharp practice, which may pay for the moment, but cannot answer permanently. I had occasion to visit the store of one of the leading French traders. He showed me several bottles, and I

noticed on the lower ones some very elaborate labels : Grande Marque Extra Fine, and all the rest of it. Moreover,many bottles were done up in wire-netting, like the very choicest and oldest brands in Europe. My curiosity was

pricked as to the market which the man could hope to find, but he said with a smile, I dont recommend those.They are intended for the natives, and contain the filthiest muck you ever imagined. This struck me as a very

eloquent, as well as a very frank summary of French colonial trade.

Powell-Cotton noted that Meneliks new Custom House was near the market, its entrance being next to the horse

and mule fair. A strong wooden gate, he records, gives access to a yard, with a large building in the centerwhere the officials sit in an open verandah, receiving dues and granting receipts. Opposite them lies a long range of

buildings, in which the merchandise is stored until it has been valued and the Customs are paid. Lying about in oddcorners are elephant tusks, some whole, others sawn in half, while outside the verandah are piles of forty or fifty

each, among them some splendid specimens.

Foreign writers also naturally paid considerable attention to the residences of the diplomatic missions, which, as

Vivian observed, were then divided into two camps, French and Russian against English and Italian, all concerning

themselves with little else than political intrigue. Menelik was always generous in granting land to foreignlegations so they were invariably surrounded by extensive property. The British Residency, as it was called, wassituated on a kind of terrace, at the foot of a steep hill, a narrow but steep ravine separating it from the Russian a

quarter of a mile off. Wellby noted that it was close to Ras Makonnens own important-looking dwelling and

well-fitted for a cricket or polo ground. He seemed slightly disappointed however that because almost every tree

had been cut up for firewood and the supply had to be carried on mens heads from a greater distance day by day ithad not yet been possible to build anything more pretentious than a round wattle hut. Powell-Cotton elaborated this

account. A turf wall some four feet high, he noted, encloses about ten acres of land, which space is again

divided by another turf wall into two unequal portions. In the upper part of the larger enclosure were two tukuls of

the usual Ethiopian pattern, but with European doors and windows. These were the private dwellings of CaptainHarrington (the British representative) and Mr. Baird, his secretary. Slightly nearer the entrance, and to the left, were

the two reception-tents, side by side. The first was luxuriously furnished with arm-chairs and lounges, the tablespiled with the latest papers and periodicals from home, and with files of Reuters telegrams, which are forwarded by

camel-post from Zeila to Harar, and thence by telephone. The second and larger served as the mess-tent, where,

when seated at a perfectly appointed meal, it was hard to realize you were in Ethiopia. On the further side of thelarge tents were other tukuls for Mr. Beru, the interpreter, Mr. Wakeman, the doctor, Bradley, the groom, and thecook-house, while behind these were yet others which contained stores and the treasure and ammunition, guarded by

Sudanese police. The smaller half of the compound was divided into four sectionsone a narrow strip at the back,where the Sudanese with their households lived in little huts, next to this a large grass field, in which the ponies

were tethered and where the dhobie spread his washing. Adjoining this came the stable-yard, which contained along, pent-roofed building, supported down the center by poles, and capable of holding thirty horses ; in front of this

structure were other tukuls, comprising a harness-room and fodder stores. The last enclosure, lying nearest the city,was filled with yukuls for the Ethiopian servants and their wives, in the largest of which grinding corn and making


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the native bread was continuously going on.

Somewhat more imposing was the Russian Residency which Wellby describes as a white-washed and suitable

house, commanding cheery views of all the neighboring country. Guarded by a tame ostrich which neverthelesssometimes occasioned the visitor some fright, the Russians kept up considerable state and sported a Cossack guard.

Vivian declared it was no uncommon sight to see a long procession of Russian soldiers, fair men rigged out in the

regular Russian uniform with peaked caps. There were also five Russian doctors in gorgeous uniform who ran aRed Cross hospital where people were attended free at an annual cost of 7,000 to the Tsar, and much to the disgustof English writers who looked on the whole affair with considerable jealousy and made many cynical remarks about

the white Tsars love for Ethiopia. Addis Ababas European community was at that time also discussing themarriage to a Russian officer to an Ethiopian lady, this being, as Powell-Cotton said, the first time one of their

number had gone through the religious ceremony with an Ethiopian. . . . When the bridegroom, an officer in theImperial Russian Guard, asked Meneliks permission to marry her and take her to Russia, the reply was, Certainly,

if you have your Emperors leave to do so.

Captain Ciccodicolas Italian Residency was inthe opinion of Powell-Cotton the most luxurious dwelling in Addis

Ababa. The Italian being anxious to regain for his country some at least of the prestige lost at Adowa wasdetermined to make a show. As he was anxious to have a suitable place for the Italian Residency as soon as

possible, and the collection of timber for a large house in Addis Ababa is a matter of much time and difficulty, he

decided to buy an existing compound with two houses. These he converted into dining and drawing rooms,connected by passages with a circular reception hall, from which the sleeping apartments and offices opened out.The whole formed one of the most picturesque yet comfortable dwellings I have ever seen. Entering through a

gatehouse into a courtyard, we left our mules and attendants, and then proceeded through a second gate ; on eitherside was a raised open tukul, in one of which the sentry on guard beat a gong to announce our approach. We then

found ourselves in a second courtyard encircled by a covered way and with beautifully laid out flower-beds in thecenter At the further end was the reception hall, hung with leopard skins and trophies of arms. . . . This apartment,

with its Persian carpets, couches covered with polar-bear skins, statuary, pictures, precious curios and works of art,its shaded lamps and candles, was pervaded by an atmosphere of luxury and refinement. Ciccodicola, Vivian

observes, had moreover been empowered to spend Italian secret service funds on an extremely lavish scale and wasavailing himself of the opportunity.

Mr. Legarde, the French representative, whom Menelik had created Duke of Entotto, also had an important

residence, for France at this time was the country with which Menelik had greatest contact. Wellby describes theresidence as being surrounded by a cage-like stockade which not only shut out most effectively hyena and jackal,but also most of the suns life-giving rays, while Powell-Cotton describes the Legation as a large, oblong tukul,

with no visible windows. Inside, he declares, it was so dark that at first we could hardly see the chairs we were

invited to take. As our eyes became accustomed to the gloom, we found we were seated in an apartment draped

throughout in red and blue, and decorated at intervals with gilt stars and shields which displayed the tricolour ofFrance. In the center of the straight wall, facing the semi-circle in which we sat, stood a gilt throne, raised on a kind

of platform and surmounted by a canopy flanked by curtains. On either side, on the lower level of the floor, a small

chair was set. The whole effectadded to the dim, religious lightwas distinctly weird. Such, Vivian commented,

was the state kept up by the representative of republican France.

The Ethiopian Chronicle relates that in 1905 the Bank of Ethiopia was chartered, and in the same year a fire which

destroyed many of the Court buildings enabled the replacement of wooden edifices by stone. Soon afterwards St.Georges Cathedral was rebuilt in a new octagonal style. The architect in charge was the Greek Orphanies, and the

engineer, an Italian, Castagna ; Greek workers were also employed. A steam-engine arrived from Europe totransport the stones required for this and other new edifices. A year or so later the Itieguie hotel was built near the

new Cathedral, a large house for strangers, as the Chronicle calls it, where the finest foods of both Europe andEthiopia were served. In 1907-8 the first Ethiopian cabinet was formed, for as the Chronicle says, Menelik wished to

implant into the country European customs. The new Menelik II School opened its doors in October, 1907, andreached a hundred students in the following year. In December, 1907, the first motor-car was driven into the capital

by two Englishmen, Bentley and Halle, who were soon followed by other drivers.

Clifford Halle, who penned an account of his arrival in what would be today considered a very primitive car, has


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something to say of the Ethiopian capital at this time. He refers to several Ethiopian churches built in ston e andsaw in the distance the larger houses of the European merchants. Menelik, he goes on, had evidently made good

use of his steam-rollers, for the macadamized roads were excellent. The Emperor impressed him as extremely aliveto modern needs. Hewas quite enlightened, Halle notes, to the advantages of a railway up to his capital, and the

consequent increase of trade and of the wealth that would follow ; but he was equally well aware that foreign capitalmeant foreign interests, and sooner or later foreign soldiers following those interests. He questioned Bentley as to

the impressions he had gained of the Japanese people, and let it be seen that he had closely followed the marvelousascent of that great nation into a world power. As soon as thetwo Englishmen had presented the car Menelik was

not content merely to inspect the new arrival ; he was almost at once in the front seat with the driver proceeding attop speed, the old Emperor laughing and puffing for breath, with his goggleless eyes streaming, as happy as a

schoolboy, while the now galloping escort was left somewhere on the horizon. Though there is no record of theEmpress joining the expedition, she spoke kindly to the driver and expressed satisfaction that he differed from so

many ferenge who talked big and did little.

The face of the capital was changing. At the turn of the century Wylde had complained that Addis Ababa was little

more than a conglomeration of hamlets and huts with hardly a decent house to be seen anywhere. The wholesettlement, he added seems to have been built in a hurry. Robert Skinner, who led the first American mission to

the Court of Menelik and reported only a few years later in 1906, saw a city already transformed. The approach, hedeclared was grand ; high mountains were on both sides and ahead of us, and we marched between fields of

waving grain. . . . Having entered the city we found ourselves traveling over one of the smooth and well-built roadswith which Menelik is introducing modern civilization.

the founding of addis ababa cit1

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