return. For the first hour of the engagement our fire
seemed to daze the natives, and they would retreat to
a point beyond range. They would there reassemble,
and after being harangued by their chiefs would again
charge us, only to be beaten back again.
We, however, did not get off scot free. There were
many hand-to-hand combats between my men and the
natives. Three of the porters were stretched upon
the ground. By 11 a .m ., when thè natives left us in
peace, we discovered that twelve more of our band
were wounded, some so seriously as to be unable to
walk, and all seemed to suffer acutely from pain.
Two of my men had been shot through the leg by
poisoned arrows, which throughout the combat had
rained over our little knoll ; but in most cases the aim
was so bad, that the natives overshot their mark.
Fortunately the poison placed upon the arrows with
which my men were wounded had not been freshly
applied, and did not dissolve in passing through the
flesh. In each of these two cases the arrow-head
passed through the leg, leaving the shaft transfixed;
so we had to break off the feathers and pull out the
arrow-stems. However, we then had but little time
to devote to the treatment of the wounded, as we
knew not when the natives would return in greater
numbers, and resume the attack. So we gathered
such supplies of food as we could, with the intention
of continuing our march. By noon we had secured a
number of goats and cattle, and cereals sufficient for
eight days’ rations for our men. A t the start we had
great difficulty in driving the cattle and goats — they
were as wild as hawks ; but I soon discovered, to