FOUNDING THE PROTECTORATE 
1 39 
daylight, and began to shell it. A few shots were fired by the enemy, but 
their resistance was soon overcome and they fled from Msalemu’s and 
Kopakopa simultaneously, and crossed the Rukuru River. We therefore 
entered the stockades and took possession of them. Kopakopa however 
had resolved to make but little stand here and to unite his force with those 
of Mlozi in the defence of the latter town, where the war would really be 
fought out. He had therefore retreated from his stockade in the night, 
directly the rumour of our landing had reached him, and although he lost 
some of his men from the fire of Major Trollope’s party he succeeded in 
effecting his retreat to Mlozi’s. 
After a short rest at Kopakopa’s we marched along the Arab road to Mlozi’s 
stockade and came up with Major Trollope’s force at i p.m. Getting the guns 
into position Commander Cullen commenced a most effective fire, which would 
have probably burned Mlozi’s town to the ground then and there but for a 
terribly heavy rain falling at the time. The enemy returned our fire with 
THE TRANSPORTS ON THEIR WAY TO KARONGA 
ARRIVING IN LIKOMA BAY, EAST NYASA 
vigour but could only use against us rifles, muzzle-loading guns, and one 
muzzle-loading cannon. Although their firing was fairly good we kept pretty 
much outside their range. We sheltered ourselves in one or two outlying 
villages which apparently had been built for the housing of slaves. One of 
these settlements was within 250 yards of the main entrance of Mlozi’s stockade 
and this we managed to occupy, with only one serious casualty. It is true 
we were not very well sheltered from Mlozi’s fire in this position, but then the 
fire of his men was rather high and the bullets whistled harmlessly over our 
heads. We now drew the cordon tighter round Mlozi’s stockade in an almost 
continuous ring of armed men. About 700 Wankonde people had tendered 
their services as carriers for our guns, and these men though unwilling to get 
within fire still assisted us in repelling sorties from the stockade, which, as the 
bombardment continued, became fiercer and more frequent. 
Mlozi’s town was of large extent, perhaps half a square mile in area, and 
it was surrounded by a rather remarkable stockade which consisted of a double 
fence of withes thoroughly coated with hard clay and with a flat roof of wooden 
beams, thatch and clay. This hollow stockade was cut up by transverse parti¬ 
tions into innumerable dwellings. It was loopholed in two rows and pits were 
dug below the level of the ground for the shelter of the defenders who fired 
