A moment before, the most solemn silence pervaded these woods. We deemed that not a human being moved within miles of us, and now they rang with savage and ferocious yells, and fierce armed men crowded round us on every side, bent on our destruction.
CONTEST WITH THEM. UNFORTUNATE RESULTS.
There was something very terrible in so complete and sudden a surprise. Certain death appeared to stare us in the face: and, from the determined and resolute air of our opponents, I immediately guessed that the man who had first seen them, instead of boldly standing his ground, and calling to Coles and myself for assistance, had at once, like a coward, run away; thus giving the natives confidence in themselves, and a contempt for us: and this conjecture I afterwards ascertained was perfectly true.
We were now fairly engaged for our lives; escape was impossible, and surrender to such enemies out of the question.
As soon as I saw the natives around me I fired one barrel of my gun over the head of him who was pursuing my dismayed attendant, hoping the report would have checked his further career. He proved to be the tall man seen at the camp, painted with white. My shot stopped him not: he still closed on us and his spear whistled by my head; but, whilst he was fixing another in his throwing stick, a ball from my second barrel struck him in the arm and it fell powerless by his side. He now retired behind a rock, but the others still pressed on.
IMMINENT DANGER.
I now made the two men retire behind some neighbouring rocks, which formed a kind of protecting parapet along our front and right flank, whilst I took post on the left. Both my barrels were now exhausted; and I desired the other two to fire separately, whilst I was reloading; but to my horror, Coles, who was armed with my rifle, reported hurriedly that the cloth case with which he had covered it for protection against rain had become entangled. His services were thus lost at a most critical moment whilst trying to tear off the lock cover; and the other man was so paralysed with fear that he could do nothing but cry out, "Oh, God! Sir, look at them; look at them!"
In the meantime our opponents pressed more closely round; their spears kept whistling by us, and our fate seemed inevitable. The light coloured man, spoken of at the camp, now appeared to direct their movements. He sprang forward to a rock not more than thirty yards from us and, posting himself behind it, threw a spear with such deadly force and aim that, had I not drawn myself forward by a sudden jerk, it must have gone through my body, and as it was it touched my back in flying by. Another well-directed spear, from a different hand, would have pierced me in the breast, but, in the motion I made to avoid it, it struck upon the stock of my gun, of which it carried away a portion by its force.
All this took place in a few seconds of time, and no shot had been fired but by me. I now recognized in the light-coloured man an old enemy who had led on the former attack against me on the 22nd of December. By his cries and gestures he now appeared to be urging the others to surround and press on us, which they were rapidly doing.
FALL OF THE NATIVE CHIEF.