Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/202

 ten feet high, so strong and dense as to defy all attempts to penetrate or even see through it. Inside of this was a second ditch. In this ditch the natives sought shelter and defended themselves, only exposing their heads  when they rose to shoot through the loop-holes left in  the palisade.

As soon as we neared the fortification, we 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 Fiji men to deal with. This compelled them to abandon all the outer works to  destruction, and to retire within, where they all united  in giving a loud shout of "Lako-mai," "Come on," at  the same time flourishing their war-clubs and spears.

Having arrived within about seventy feet, we fired on the fortification. Now was seen what many of those present had not before believed; the expertness with  which these savages dodge a ball at the flash of a gun. Those who were the most incredulous before, were now satisfied that they could do this effectually. A stubborn resistance was kept up with musketry, arrows, and war-clubs, which lasted about twenty minutes. In this the women and children were as actively engaged as the  men. They believed that it required a larger load to kill a large man than it did to kill a small man. The bows and arrows were for the most part used by the  women.

The defense soon slackened, and many natives could be seen escaping from the rear with their dead and  wounded on their backs. A rocket, of which several had already been tried without any visible effect, now