In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
horse. A great war-horn was loudly praising 
him and breathing out threatenings for his ene¬ 
mies. Areh’s drums bid him fierce defiance. 
Much of the day was given to manoeuvering and 
getting the bushy, grassy plain in a condition for 
a fight. 
In the stand-up contest which followed, lines 
of men several abreast, streamed to the front, 
fired and then turned and flowed back to the 
rear. They thus formed an endless chain from 
one end of which there poured a constant stream 
of fire. For a while an incessant blaze issued 
from the front of both armies. Wherever the 
lines of battle were within a hundred yards of 
each other, the work was quite deadly, but out¬ 
side of that distance the fire was not very effec¬ 
tive. The roar of the muskets was deafening, 
and the ground often sensibly vibrated. Neither 
side had any artillery, but the sound of the battle 
was heard in Abeokuta, two days’ journey away. 
A creek imbedded in high grass and bushes, lay 
between the opposing forces, and each com¬ 
mander tried to induce his opponent to cross 
first. At length Areh’s officers lost control of the 
younger and more reckless, and they forced one 
of the fords and drove the Ebaddans back for 
nearly a mile. But they were dreadfully pun- 
172 
