and again the savages hurled themselves upon our
stockade, launching spear after spear with deadly
force into the camp, to be each time repulsed.
Sometimes the muzzle of our guns almost touched
their breasts. The shrieks, cries, shouts of encouragement,
the rattling volleys of musketry,
the booming war-horns, the yells and defiance
of the combatants, the groans and screams of
the women and children in the hospital camp,
made together such a medley of hideous noises
as can never be effaced from my memory. For
two hours this desperate conflict lasted. More
than once, some of the Wangwana were about
to abandon the struggle and run to the canoes,
but Uledi, the coxswain, and Frank threatened
them with clubbed muskets, and with the muzzles
of their rifles drove them back to the stockade^
At dusk the enemy retreated from the vicinity
of the clearing; but the hideous alarums produced
from their ivory horns, and increased by the
echoes of the close forest, still continued; and
now and again a vengeful poison-laden arrow
flew by with an ominous whizz to quiver in the
earth at our feet, or fall harmlessly into the river
behind us.
Sleep, under such circumstances, was out of
the question; yet there were many weak, despairing
souls whom even the fear of being eaten
could not rouse to a sense of Inanliness and the
necessity for resistance. Aware of this, I
entrusted the task of keeping the people awake
t0 Frank Pocock, Sheikh Abdallah, and Wadi
Rehani, the “ treasurer” of the Expedition, who
Were ordered to pour kettles of cold water
over their heads upon the least disposition to
go to sleep.
About 11 P.M. a dark form was seen creeping
from the bush on all fours towards our stockade.
I moved quietly to where vigilant Uledi was
maintaining watch and ward, and whispered to
him to take two men and endeavour to catch
him. Uledi willingly consented, and burrowed
out through a slight opening in the fence, lhe
eyes of those in the secret became fastened upon
the dim shadows of the hostile forms, so similar,
it seemed to me, in their motions to a crocodile
which I had seen on a r o c k near Kisorya in
Ukerewe, as it endeavoured to deceive a large
diver into the belief that it was asleep while
actually meditating its murder.
Soon we saw Uledi’s form leap upon that of
the prostrate savage and heard him call out or
help, which was at once given him by his two
assistants; but an ominous rustling in the bushes
behind announced that the cunning enemy were
also on the alert, and, as they rushed to the
rescue, Uledi snatched his captive’s spears, and
with his two friends retreated into the camp,
while our guns again awoke the echoes of the