Haifa; or, Life in modern PalestineOliphant, Laurence
History
Haifa; or, Life in modern Palestine
Oliphant, Laurence
Palestine -- Description and travel
Since this time the colonists, who are constantly travelling in their
wagons between Haifa and Nazareth, and in the hottest weather generally
make the journey by night, always go two or three together, and had not
been molested until a few nights ago, when two of them started for
Nazareth, one of them the victim of last year. His companion, who had
left Haifa a little before him, expecting to be shortly overtaken, was
jogging along at about 8 P.M., and was not above four miles distant from
Haifa, when a Circassian rode past him, wishing him good-evening. The
German returned the salute, but his suspicions were roused by the man's
manner, and he got his revolver ready. Almost immediately after he heard
a whistle, the man who had passed him turned sharply back, and two
others sprang upon him from an ambush, where they had been concealed, by
the roadside. One of them seized his horses' heads, while the others
began cutting the traces. The teamster instantly jumped from the box,
and, unwilling to shoot before it was absolutely necessary, closed with
one of the robbers, striking at him with the butt of his pistol. He was,
however, nearly overpowered, and had just time, as he saw his adversary
draw a knife, to send a bullet through him. At this moment he received a
severe blow on the back from one of the other men, who rushed to the
assistance of his comrade, but the German, who was an old soldier and
had been through the Franco-German campaign, was a quick shot, and
knocked this man over with a second barrel. At this moment a fourth
Circassian appeared upon the scene. Fortunately, the attacking party
were only armed with knives. The two remaining Circassians now, seeing
that two of their number had been disposed of, began to draw off their
bodies, it being a first principle of their warfare to carry away their
dead. This gave the German, who was scarcely able to raise himself from
the ground, a chance to fire two more shots, but, as it seemed at the
time, without effect, and the two Circassians, throwing the bodies of
their companions over their horses, made off.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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