These were some of the many thoughts that suggested themselves to us as we talked matters over together.
Besides Malaouen, Querlaouen, and Gambo, we had two boys with us; one was named Njali and the other Nola.
We agreed that the first thing we must do was to build an intrenched camp.
You will all say at once, “What a wild and reckless set of fellows you were to choose such a place for a hunting-ground!”
So we were. We seemed to delight in danger for the sake of the excitement it afforded.
So, having made up our minds what to do, we rose, and taking in one hand our gun and in the other an axe, we went bravely to work and cut long poles about fifteen feet in length, which we brought to the place we had chosen for our camp. As we cut these young trees we laid our guns close by; we did not stop cutting these poles until we had a few hundreds of them, and for three days we were at work as hard as we could.
After we had collected all the poles we commenced building. We had chosen a place where four large trees made the four corners of a square. They were about thirty feet apart from each other. We then begun to drive palisades, making them go down about six inches into the ground; these we tied close together with strong lianas we had collected, until at last the square was finished. We cut all the underbrush inside, and made a very clean place for the interior of our fort.
AN INTRENCHED CAMP.
Then the question was how to get inside? So we made two ladders, one of creepers, flexible like ropes, for the outside; the other, for the inside, was a very strong step-ladder. For the latter we cut two poles, and tied crossed sticks upon them for steps. This ladder, as we have said, was for the inside, so that after we should reach the top of the palisade we could pull inside our ladder made of creepers, and that would thus be quite safe, for we knew that no one could leap over the palisade.
We then, in the inside of the palisade, stuck leaves upon the walls, so that if perchance any one came they could not get a peep at us.