"Colonel Long describes a battle which he had in front of M'rooli," the Doctor remarked while they were resting by the side of the path; "and it must have been where we see the river widening out that the fight took place.
"He was the first white man to descend the river from the Victoria N'yanza, and he did so in spite of the opposition of the natives. He discovered a lake, since called Lake Ibrahim, between here and the Victoria N'yanza, and as he approached M'rooli he saw a great number of canoes, full of natives armed with spears. They were stretched in a double line across the stream in such a way as to prevent its passage except by fighting, and their number was so large as to make the chance of victory very small for him and his few men.
COLONEL LONG'S BATTLE AT M'ROOLI.
"There were five hundred natives against Long and his two soldiers; the natives were armed with spears and bows and arrows, while the others had breech-loading rifles of the best systems. They laid their cartridges ready, so as to fire as fast as possible, and Long ordered his two boats to be lashed together, and the Egyptian flag hoisted at the stern of the one occupied by himself; then he advanced. The negroes called out for him to stop, and when he refused to do so the battle began.
"The power of the white man's weapons over those of the savage was never more clearly shown than in this light. Long used a rifle carrying explosive shells, which shattered the sides of the boats, throwing the men into the water, and completely putting an end to their thoughts of fighting in the effort to save their lives.
