Hardly Had We Entered The Pass, When - Whizz Went An Arrow Over
Our Heads.
This was the signal for a repeated discharge.
The natives ran
among the rocks with the agility of monkeys, and showed a considerable
amount of daring in standing within about eighty yards upon the ridge,
and taking steady shots at us with their poisoned arrows. The flanking
parties now opened fire, and what with the bad shooting of both the
escort and the native archers, no one was wounded on either side for the
first ten minutes. The rattle of musketry, and the wild appearance of
the naked vermilion-coloured savages, as they leapt along the craggy
ridge, twanging their bows at us with evil but ineffectual intent, was a
charming picture of African life and manners. Fortunately the branches
of numerous trees and intervening clumps of bamboo frustrated the good
intentions of the arrows, as they glanced from their aim; and although
some fell among our party, we were as yet unscathed. One of the enemy,
who was most probably a chief, distinguished himself in particular, by
advancing to within about fifty yards, and standing on a rock, he
deliberately shot five or six arrows, all of which missed their mark;
the men dodged them as they arrived in their uncertain flight: the speed
of the arrows was so inferior, owing to the stiffness of the bows, that
nothing was easier than to evade them. Any halt was unnecessary. We
continued our march through the gorge, the men keeping up an unremitting
fire until we entered upon a tract of high grass and forest; this being
perfectly dry, it would have been easy to set it on fire, as the enemy
were to leeward; but although the rustling in the grass betokened the
presence of a great number of men, they were invisible. In a few minutes
we emerged in a clearing, where corn had been planted; this was a
favourable position for a decisive attack upon the natives, who now
closed up. Throwing out skirmishers, with orders that they were to cover
themselves behind the trunks of trees, the Baris were driven back. One
was now shot through the body, and fell; but recovering, he ran with his
comrades, and fell dead after a few yards.
What casualties had happened during the passage of the gorge I cannot
say, but the enemy were now utterly discomfited. I had not fired a shot,
as the whole affair was perfect child's play, and any one who could
shoot would have settled the fortune of the day by half a dozen shots;
but both the traders' people and my men were "shooters, but not
hitters." We now bivouacked on the field for the night.
During the march on the following day, the natives watched us at a
distance, following in great numbers parallel with our route, but
fearing to attack. The country was perfectly open, being a succession of
fine downs of low grass, with few trees, where any attack against our
guns would have been madness.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 312 of 343
Words from 161984 to 162493
of 178435
