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National Geographic : 1904 Apr
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CONSUL SKINNER'S MISSION TO ABYSSINIA R OBERT P. SKINNER, U. S. consul-general at Marseilles, who was sent on a special mis sion to Abyssinia, in November of last year, to negotiate a trade treaty with King Menelik and to gather information respecting the commercial resources of that country, has made a brief report of his mission to the Department of State. As a result of Mr Skinner's efforts a treaty has been negotiated with the Emperor's government which, if ratified by the Senate, will secure to the United States for all time the privileges of the most favored nation in Ethiopia, and at the same time guarantee to our citizens and to our merchandise im munity from discrimination in rates upon all public roads and lines of com munication. The following paragraphs are extracted from Mr Skinner's report : Acting on behalf of the Agricultural Department, I have secured a collection of the seeds of the more important crops peculiar to Ethiopia, a number of which may be found valuable in the exploita tion of the uncultivated western lands of the United States. A collection of wild coffee seeds for experimental purposes could not be obtained during my visit, but have been ordered and will be ulti mately forwarded. Such a collection could only be found in Kaffa, a remote province of the country, access to which involves a long and expensive journey. The experts of the Agricultural Depart ment have a theory that the degenera tion of the modern plantations is due to the fact that coffee culture has been based upon seed originally imported from Arabia, and that by getting back to the wild coffee plant, the habitat of which is the province of Kaffa, a new variety may be created, the value of which will be incalculable. My en deavor to obtain a pair of large zebi as for cross-breeding purposes was also in vain. These animals are exceedingly rare and difficult to capture alive. I have left instructions, however, in re gard to this matter, and trust to be able to supply two of these animals sometime in the future. The journey from Djibouti to Dire Douah was made over the barely com pleted railroad, a distance of 186 miles. At this point camels were procured for the baggage and supplies, and mules for mounts. Our party of thirty suc ceeded in departing from Dire-Douah on November 28 for the capital, where we arrived December 18, camping about three miles from the Emperor's palace. Our arrival was the signal for prompt calls from M. Ldon Chefneux, counselor of state, and one of the two foreign ad visers of the Emperor, M. Alfred Ilg being then absent in Europe. Two hours later, accompanied by M. Chef neux, the mission set out for the ade rach, or seat of government, accompa nied by an Ethiopian escort of 3,000 men under the command of a distin guished general. Although our reception at Harrar had not been devoid of military pomp, we were all astonished and our appre ciation of the picturesque gratified by this first glimpse of Ethiopian troops upon a ceremonial occasion. Arrayed in gorgeous silks and satins, with lion and leopard skin mantles, gold and silver plated bucklers, carrying lances from which floated the national colors, mounted upon spirited horses, they gal loped into formation, the very order of which was an apparent disorder, shift ing like a kaleidoscope and constituting a scene as indescribable as it was mem orable. A band of shawm-players her alded our coming with weird music which has not changed since the fall of Jericho. At the palace, or guebi, our escort fell back, and the mission, always ac companied by the marines and blue
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