Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/196

 number; they received the discharge of his whole musquetry in two vollies, so near that I scarce believe there was one shot that did not take place on man or horse. A great cry from the bank at the fame time added to their panic, which was answered by the king's troops, who immediately charged them as before, as they wheeled half round to the left. They were pursued, for a small distance, by some of the troops that had not engaged in the morning, and it was easy to perceive their disorder was real, and thus they were not likely to rally. By this last discharge, Powussen was slightly wounded, and his men were plainly seen hurrying him off the field. In the very instant the rebels turned their, backs, Kefla Yasous ordered all the troops, horse and foot, to file off down the narrow road into the valley, behind the heavy, armed horse, who kept their ground before the road, and there to join the king.

For my part, I thought the affair was over, when, last of all, we, too, with our heavy horses, descended the road, where we found Guebra Mascal, (whose activity was above all praise) drawn up on our right along the foot of the bank, (with a large pool of water in his front) flanking the valley, the king drawn up in the narrowest part of it, and just engaged with the troops of Lasta and Begemder, that had gone round by the junction of the rivers. These had lost, as we afterwards heard, much time in giving their horses water. They were, however, the more refreshed when they did come, and though they had received a fire from the troops on the round hill, and from those posted on the rocky ground, on the other side of the valley, they had beat the king and Engedan back, and wounded him in the thigh.