This had been purposely concealed by grass and boughs.
We had hardly entered this path when we were suddenly attacked. A
horsekeeper was wounded by a spear, which passed through his leg, behind
the knee, and cut the sinew, thus rendering him helpless. He was
immediately placed upon a donkey. The unfortunate lad who led the horse
a few paces before me now uttered a wild shriek, as a spear passed
completely through his body. The poor boy crept to me on his hands and
knees, and asked, "Shall I creep into the grass, Pacha?-where shall I
go?" He had not another minute to live.
A spear struck another horsekeeper on the hip, and the soft iron point
turned up against the bone in a curve like a fish-hook.
A sharp fire dispersed the enemy, who retired to a distance, yelling
and blowing their whistles. The wounded horsekeeper could manage to walk
forward.
There is a peculiar bird in the forests of Unyoro which utters a shrill
cry, with these notes.
The natives imitate this cry with their whistles of antelope's horn. I
had noticed that previous to an attack from an ambuscade, we had always
heard the call of this bird.
My Baris declared that the bird warned us of the danger, and cried,
"Co-co-me! Co-co-me!" which in their language means, "Look out!
