MALOLO. 277 
warriors. Its defences evinced no little skill in engineering: a ditch 
twelve feet wide and full of mud and water, surrounded the whole; 
next came a strong palisade, built of cocoa-nut trunks, placed four or 
five feet apart, among which was here and there a living tree; this 
palisade was united by a fence of wicker-work, about ten feet high, so 
strong and dense as to defy all attempts to penetrate or even see 
through it; inside of the palisade was a second ditch, recently exca- 
vated, the earth thrown up from which formed a parapet about four 
feet in thickness, and as many in height. In the ditch the defenders 
sheltered themselves, and only exposed their heads when they rose to 
shoot through the loopholes left in the palisade. As the whole party 
continued to approach the fortification, our men spread out so as to 
outflank the skirmishers, and by a few rockets and a shower of balls 
showed them that they had different enemies from Feejee men to deal 
with. ‘This compelled them to retire within the fortification, and 
abandon all on its outside to destruction. When the skirmishers had 
retired into the fortress, all united in loud shouts of lako-mai (come 
on!), flourishing their spears and clubs. 
Our party having approached within about seventy feet of the 
stockade, opened its fire on the fortification. Now was seen, what 
many of those present had not before believed, the expertness with 
which these people dodge a shot at the flash of a gun. Those who 
were the most incredulous before, were now satisfied that they could 
do this effectually. | 
For about fifteen minutes an obstinate resistance was kept up with 
musketry and arrows. In this the women and children were as 
actively engaged as the men, and all made a prodigious clamour. 
After the above time, the noise diminished, the defence slackened, and 
many were seen to make their escape from a gate which was inten- 
tionally left unattacked, carrying the dead and wounded on their 
backs. A rocket, of which several had already been tried without 
visible efiect, now struck one of the thatched roofs; a native sprung 
up to tear it off, but that moment was his last, and the roof immedi- 
ately burst into flames. Upon this Lieutenant-Commandant Ring- 
gold recalled several officers who were desirous of storming the town 
through its small gate, an attempt, which even if successful, must 
have been attended with loss of life on our part, and which the suc- 
cess of the rocket practice rendered unnecessary. To force the gate 
would have been a difficult operation, had it been defended with the 
least pertinacity, for it was constructed in the manner of a fish-weir. 
The natives, as has been seen, had, in addi:ion to their arrows, clubs, 
spears, and muskets; but the latter were so unskilfully handled as to 
y 
