In about an hour we arrived at firm ground, and the country became more
open and undulating. The clouds began to break and the rain ceased. We
pushed briskly forward until, after marching at the pace of four miles
per hour, the guide, Sherroom, suddenly halted. We were now in a clear
space where a few large trees grew in a clump upon our right. Sherroom,
who evidently knew every inch of the country, whispered that we must
wait here in silence, as there were villages not far off, and the
stockade that we were to attack was in the immediate neighbourhood. It
was nearly 5 A.M., and although we had marched since one o'clock, we
were not more than nine miles from Gondokoro. I trusted that our halt
would allow the rear to join us with the gun which had caused so much
delay.
We waited for about half-an-hour in perfect silence. There was not a
star upon the sky, which was dark and murky, thus we could distinguish
nothing. At length the black night began to grow more grey, and we could
just make out some dark masses, that appeared to be villages, upon the
right and left. We now marched rapidly, but without the slightest noise.
The morning grew greyer, and birds began to whistle. We could
distinguish trees and the tall crops of dhurra.
There was no sign of Tayib Agha and his detachment, but it was
absolutely necessary to push forward.
We were thus hurrying on, sometimes through cultivated fields, at others
through strips of forest, when we suddenly heard the long shrill cry
that is the native signal of danger. This was from a Bari watchman, who,
more awake than those by whom we must have passed unobserved, now gave
the alarm. This cry was immediately repeated in various directions.
There was no time to be lost. Sherroom bounded forward like an antelope,
at a pace that kept our horses at a hand gallop. In a couple of minutes
we saw a large circular stockade in a clear space, but within fifty
yards of the forest on our left. We galloped up, followed closely by the
"Forty Thieves," who ran like hounds. I immediately surrounded the
stockade, from which the natives had commenced to shoot their arrows.
The Egyptian troops were close up, and in the uncertain light it was
impossible to see the arrows in their flight; thus one soldier was
immediately wounded; another received a shot through his trousers. An
arrow stuck in Mr. Higginbotham's saddle, and they began to fly about
very viciously. The "Forty Thieves" now opened fire, while the Egyptians
were drawn up in a line about fifty yards from the stockade. It was
rather awkward, as the defence was a circle: thus as the troops fired
into a common centre, the bullets that passed through the intervening
spaces between the uprights of hard wood came pinging about our ears.
The sky had become grey, and there was sufficient light to discover the
doorway of the stockade. I ordered the bugles to sound "cease firing,"
and prepared to force the entrance. This was a narrow archway about four
feet six inches high, constructed of large pieces of hard wood that it
was impossible to destroy. The doorway was stopped by transverse bars of
abdnoos, or Bari ebony, and protected by a mass of hooked thorn that had
been dragged into the passage and jammed beneath the cross-bars.
I ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader to force the gateway. This he
immediately commenced, assisted by Lieutenant Baker and Mr.
Higginbotham, together with a party of the "Forty Thieves," while others
of the same corps closed up to the stockade on either side of the
entrance, and kept up a heavy fire to protect the attack.
In the mean time the immense drum within the stockade was thundering out
the summons to collect the whole of the neighbourhood for war. This
signal was answered by the heavy booming sound of innumerable drums
throughout the district far and near; and as it had now become light, I
could distinguish the natives collecting from all parts and evidently
surrounding our position. I therefore posted men as skirmishers around
the circle about eighty yards distant from the stockade, facing
outwards, while the small party forced the gateway.
The fire of the snider rifles and the steady shooting of the "Forty
Thieves" quickly reduced the number of arrows, and the natives, finding
that it was getting too hot, suddenly made a dash by a secret entrance
and rushed through the troops, now of necessity widely scattered, and
they gained the forest.
At the same time the gateway was forced, and we found a prize within of
upwards of six hundred cows. The stockade, or zareeba, was immensely
strong, formed of massive logs of ironwood deeply imbedded in the earth,
and arranged so closely together that not one bullet out of ten would
have found its way through the crevices if fired from a distance. The
proper way to attack the circular strongholds is to make a sudden rush
close up to the defence, and to lay the rifle between the openings; the
stockade then becomes a protection to the attacking party, as there is
no flank fire to enfilade them.
The natives were now gathering on all sides; but we were in possession,
and although our party consisted of only seventy men, we had an
impregnable position, which I could hold until joined by Tayib Agha. I
accordingly took a few of the "Forty Thieves" to a distance of about 150
paces away from the centre, and concealed them as sharpshooters,
wherever I found a convenient cover. The fire of the sniders kept the
enemy at a respectful distance.
