The Loot Consisted Of All Sorts Of Household Articles
And Implements, Including Wooden Pillows, Bowls, And Dishes, "Tapa"
Cloth Of Quaint Designs, Stone Adzes, Beautiful Feather Ornaments,
"Bau-Baus" Or Native Bamboo Pipes, Wooden Spears, And A Great Quantity
Of Shell And Dogs'-Tooth Necklaces.
We saw three or four of the enemy scouting on the edge of the forest,
and I was asked to try to pick one off, but before I could fire
they had disappeared.
Then several Notus ran out brandishing spears,
and danced a war-dance in front of the forest, but their invitation
was not accepted. We next saw several armed scouts on a small tree
about five hundred yards away, and we all lined up and gave them
a volley; whether we hit any of them or not it is hard to say, but
they dropped down immediately into the long grass. At any rate, it
must have astonished them to hear the bullets whistling round them,
even if they were not hit, as it was the first time they had ever
heard the report of a firearm of any description. Some of the police
went out to sneak through the long grass, and we soon heard shots,
and they came back with the spears, clubs and shields of two men
they had killed. They also brought a curious fighting ornament worn
on the head, made of upper bills of the hornbill.
We continued our march through some thick forest, and at length came
to the banks of a river, where we suddenly crouched down. An armed
man was crawling along the river bed, peering in all directions, and
shouting out to his friends on the opposite bank. We were anxious to
make a capture. Monckton suddenly gave the word, and up jumped a dozen
police in front of me and plunged into the river and gave chase. I
followed hard, but the police in front were gradually leaving me far
behind. Till then I always fancied I could run a bit, but I knew better
now. Seeing the man's shield, which he had thrown away in his flight,
I at once collared it as a trophy of the chase. Then looking around,
I found that I was quite alone, and the thick jungle all around me
resounded with the loud angry shouts and cries of the enemy. I found
out afterwards that my friends and the rest had no intention of giving
chase, but had been highly amused in watching my poor effort to keep
up with the nimble barefooted police. I shall never forget those
uncomfortable few minutes as I rushed down the track in the direction
the police had taken. Visions arose before me of the part I should play
in a cannibal feast, and I expected every minute to feel the sharp
point of a spear entering the small of my back, just as I had been
seeing our people drive their spears clean through some running pigs.
To my dismay I found the track divided, and it was impossible to tell
which way the police had gone.
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