Illustrations include views of the prison at Magdala, the burning of Magdala, the battle at Fahla, and the British army en route, with elephants; portraits of Balgadda-Area, chief of the Enderla, of Oubié, chief of Samen, and of Theodoros' orphaned son, from a photograph.
This article, based on and containing excerpts from A Narrative of Captivity In Abyssinia, by Henry Blanc, 1868, translated by Ferdinand de Lanoye, begins with a brief summary of the tumultuous time preceding the reign of the cruel and tyrannical Theodoros quotes from James Bruce's Travels, 1788. The bulk of the article concerns the events surrounding the end of Theodoros' reign. He had taken captive some 60 British missionaries and government officials and representatives, including women, children, the missionary H. A. Stern, and Blanc himself. The British sent an expedition to free them. The emperor, temporarily in residence deep in central Ethiopia, assembled an army of 5,000 sick and enfeebled soldiers, which, accompanied by more than 40,000 followers, several hundred prisoners in shackles, 14 canons on their carriages, and 10 forges crossed mountainous, trackless terrain in a four-month march to the fortress at Magdala, where Theodorus would make his final stand and, ultimately, commit suicide. Details of the army, of Theodoros' personality, and of negotiations with the British are of interest. A description of the area around Magdala written by a Captain L. d'Hendecourt is included.
