104 THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 



his now retiring countrymen, who had immediately, 

 on seeing me and the bright glaring barrel of my 

 long fowling-piece, with one consent turned, and 

 began a slow retreat, in a long straggling line to 

 their original position on the opposite height, where, 

 squatting down, they assumed, like ourselves, an 

 attitude of defence, as if influenced by a desire to 

 oppose our passage through their country rather 

 than to make a gratuitous attack, which was cer- 

 tainly their first intention, before being acted upon 

 by the wholesome fear of " the villanous salt- 

 petre." Garahmee now appeared to have assumed 

 the character of commander-in-chief of our forces, 

 walking backwards and forwards between the two 

 extremities of the little semicircle we formed. 

 In one hand, he held a small twig, which he 

 waved about most energetically, as he recited some 

 long speech of a very fiercely-sounding character. 

 Occasionally, he tapped upon the head any of the 

 party who, tired of the sitting position, attempted 

 to rest himself by standing up. This part of their 

 tactics, I observed, was particularly insisted upon, 

 and was done, I was told, with a view of prevent- 

 ing the enemy from obtaining a correct knowledge 

 of the numbers of their opponents. Garahmee was 

 a recognised authority, for in his directions a 

 marshal with his baton would not have been more 

 implicitly obeyed by his army, than was this 

 half-naked savage with his little stick by his wild 

 companions. 



