THE S^OURCK OF THE NILE. 199 



had lined all thefe little f n-tifications with mufquetry, from 

 the bottom of tiie hill to the door of his tent and the 

 king^'s. 



About noon the hill was aflaulted on all fides that were 

 acceilible, an:) die ancient fpirit of the troops feemed to 

 revive upon fcemg the enemy were the aggreflbrs. With- 

 out any aid of muiqustry, the king's foot repulfed Coque 

 Abou Barei, and drove him from the hill into the plain, 

 without any confiderable Hand on his part : the fame fuc- 

 cefs followed agaia'i Mammo and Heraclius ; they were 

 chafed down the hill, and feveral of their men purfued and 

 flain on the plain ; but a large reinforcement coming from 

 the camp, the king's troops were driven up the hill again, 

 and Tesfos, with his mufquetry, had made a lodgment in 

 a pit on the low fide of one of thefe ftone-walls Ras Michael 

 had built for his own defence, from which he fired with 

 great elFedf, and the king's troops were obliged to fall back 

 to the brow of the hill immediately below the tent, and 

 that of the Ras's. In a moment appeared Woodage Afahel, 

 with a large body of horfe, fupported likewife with a con- 

 fiderable number of foot. • This was the raofl acceffible 

 part of the hill, and under the cover of Tesfos's continued 

 fire : they mounted it with great gallantry, the troops above 

 expedling them with their irons fixed at a proper elevation 

 in the ground ; for it muft be here explained, that no A- 

 h\ ifinian foldier in battle rcfts his gun upon his hand, as 

 every one is provided with a ftick about four feet long, 

 which hath hooks, or refts, on alternate intervals on each 

 fide, and which he fiicks in the ground before him, and 

 refts the muzzle of his gun upon it, according to the height 

 of the objedt he is to aim at ; and here is difcovered the fa- 

 tal 



