﻿134 NARRATIVE Of A ROUTE 



certainly defert their habitations; by which our hopes 

 of getting a guide would be fruftrated; That, to pre- 

 vent this, he would go on in front, with only one man, 

 meanly clad, while the rell of the party fhould remain 

 a liitle behind. With this fcheme in vievv', the Brin- 

 jary proceeded; but had fcarcelv gone a hundred yards 

 from a little hill clofe on our left, when he perceived 

 a confiderable body of men lying in a nulla^ which 

 run clofe under the end of the hill ; and, upon our 

 advancing, a difcharge of about thirty or forty match- 

 locks, and many arrows, was fired upon us. This 

 made us halt; and having only two je.poys with me at 

 the time, three or four fervants, and the lafcar with 

 my perambulator, I refolved to fall back to my party. 

 Upon our retiring, the Goands advanced rapidly 

 from the nulla and jungle ; and a party of them made 

 their appearance on the top of the hill. At this inltant, 

 fortunatelv, I was joined by a naick and four fepoys 

 of my advance, and immediately formed them, prim- 

 ing and loading in a little fpace of open ground on 

 our right. As foon as the fepoys had loaded, I would 

 fain have parleyed with the favages before firing; but 

 all my endeavours towards it were inefiPeftual ; and as 

 they continued to rufh with impetuofity towards us, 

 with their matches lighted, and arrows fixed in their 

 bows, they received the fire of my party at the dif- 

 tance of about twenty yards ; when four or five of 

 them inltantly dropped. This gave them an immediate 

 check, and they ran off, hallooing and (houting, into 

 the woods; carrying off their killed and wounded, all 

 but one body ; and leaving fome of their arms, which 

 fell into our poffeffion. The reft of my people having 

 by this time joined me, I directed a party of a naick 

 and four fepoys to drive them from the hill : this they 

 foon effcBed; after which, difpofing of the fmall force 

 I had with me, in fuch a manner as it might aCl to 

 moft advantage if again attacked, we moved forward, 

 v/ith the hope of reaching Bhopaulputtun that night. 



Nothing 



