Upon arrival at the spot where the battle had taken place,
there were a number of vultures settled in various spots where the
ground was marked with blood, and the cleanly-picked skeleton of a man,
lying close to the euphorbia hedge, showed that the Baris had really
come to close quarters. (The officer declared that twenty of the enemy
were slain, while the soldiers admitted that only five were killed.
There was always a gross exaggeration in the reports.)
The natives had carried off their dead, with the exception of the body
that had been cleaned by the vultures; this must have been a stranger
who had no friends, as the Baris are very particular in the interment of
their people.
I now marched my men along the high ground towards the south, and
examined the numerous habitations, until I arrived at a little colony
comprising six villages, all of which were full of corn. Here I left
Major Abdullah and his detachment, with orders to collect all the dhurra
from the neighbouring villages, and to form a central depot at his
present station, after which, the corn could be thrashed out and carried
to the vessels. I stationed a noggur by the bank exactly opposite his
position, about half a mile distant.
The natives had abandoned the neighbourhood:
