We were not long left unmolested. The savages
recovered their wits, and strove desperately
to dislodge us, but at each end of the village,
which was about three hundred yards long, our
muskets blazed incessantly. I also caused three
or four sharpshooters to ascend tall trees along
the river banks, which permitted them, though
unseen, to overlook the tall grasses and rear of
the village, and to defend us from fire. Meanwhile,
for the first time for twenty-four hours,
the sick (seventy-two in number) were allotted
one-fourth of the village for themselves, as over
one-half of them were victims of the pest, of
which three had died in the canoes during the
fearful hours of the previous night.
The combat lasted until noon, when, mustering
twenty-five men, we made a sally, and
succeeded in clearing the skirts of the village
for the day. Uledi caught one of the natives
by the foot, and succeeded in conveying him
within the village, where he was secured as a
most welcome prize, through whom we might
possibly, if opportunities offered, bring this determined
people to reason.
Then while the scouts deployed in a crescent
form from beyond the ends of the village into
the forest, the rest of our force formed in line,
and commenced to cut down all weeds and grass
within a distance of a hundred yards. This work
consumed three hours, after which the scouts
were withdrawn, and we rested half an hour
for another scant meal of bananas. Thus refreshed
after our arduous toil, we set about building
marksmen’s nests at each end of the village 15
feet high, which, manned with ten men each,
commanded all approaches. For our purpose
there were a number of soft-wood logs, already
prepared, in the village, and bark rope and cane
fibre were abundant in every hut, for the inhabitants
of Vinya-Njara devoted themselves,
among other occupations, to fishing, and the
manufacture of salt from the Pistia plants.
By evening our labours were nearly completed.
During the night there was a slight alarm, and
now and then the tapping on the roofs and the
pattering among the leaves informed us that our
enemies were still about, but we did not reply
to them.
The next morning an assault was attempted,
for the enemy emerged from the bush on the
run into the clearing; but our arrangements
seemed to surprise them, for they retreated
again almost immediately into the gloomy obscurities
of the jungle, where they maintained,
with indomitable spirit, horn-blowing and a terrific
“ bo-bo-boing.” .
We had, it seems— though I have not had time
to mention it before— passed the tribes which
ted cries of “ Ooh-hu-hu, ooh-hu, ooh-hu-hu,
for ever, since our arrival at Vinya-Njara we had