On that day, I should add, as the Mazitu never dreamed
of being attacked, all their stock were grazing on some distant veldt.
In this space between the two fences were many hundreds of huts,
wattle and grass built, but for the most part roofed with palm leaves,
for here, in their separate quarters, dwelt the great majority of the
inhabitants of Beza Town, of which the northern part was occupied by
the king, the nobles and the captains. This ring of huts, which
entirely surrounded the market-place except at the two gateways, may
have been about a hundred and twenty yards in width.
Down the paths between these huts, both on the eastern and the western
side, advanced the Arabs and half-breeds, of whom there appeared to be
about four hundred, all armed with guns and doubtless trained to
fighting. It was a terrible force for us to face, seeing that although
we may have had nearly as many men, our guns did not total more than
fifty, and most of those who held them were quite unused to the
management of firearms.
Pages:
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565