Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824Denham, Dixon
History
Narrative of travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824
Denham, Dixon
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, North -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Africa, North
earth who was dismounted for the purpose of firing the town, and as
often were those who rushed forward for that purpose sacrificed for
their temerity, by the Felatahs. Barca Gana, whose muscular arm was
almost gigantic, threw eight spears, which all told, some of them at
a distance of thirty or thirty-five yards, and one particularly on
a Felatah chief, who with his own hand had brought four to the ground.
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · “Incidet ictus,
Ingens ad terram duplicato poplite Turnus.”
Had either the Mandara or the sheikh’s troops now moved up boldly,
notwithstanding the defence these people made, and the reinforcements
which showed themselves to the south-west, they must have carried
the town with the heights overlooking it, along which the Arabs were
driving the Felatahs by the terror their miserable guns excited;
but, instead of this, they still kept on the other side of the wadey,
out of reach of the arrows.
[Illustration: From a Sketch by Major Denham.
Engraved by E. Finden.
ATTACK ON MUSFEIA.
_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]
The Felatahs seeing their backwardness, now made an attack in their
turn: the arrows fell so thick that there was no standing against
them, and the Arabs gave way. The Felatah horse now came on; and
had not the little band round Barca Gana, and Boo-Khaloom, with a
few of his mounted Arabs, given them a very spirited check, not one
of us would probably have lived to see the following day: as it was,
Barca Gana had three horses hit under him, two of which died almost
immediately, the arrows being poisoned, and poor Boo-Khaloom’s
horse and himself received their death-wounds by arrows of the same
description. My horse was badly wounded in the neck, just above the
shoulder, and in the near hind leg: an arrow had struck me in the
face as it passed, merely drawing the blood, and I had two sticking
in my bornouse. The Arabs had suffered terribly; most of them had
two or three wounds, and one dropped near me with five sticking
in his head alone: two of Boo-Khaloom’s slaves were killed also,
near his person.
No sooner did the Mandara and Bornou troops see the defeat of the
Arabs, than they, one and all, took to flight in the most dastardly
manner, without having once been exposed to the arrows of the enemy,
and in the utmost confusion. The sultan of Mandara led the way, who
was prepared to take advantage of whatever plunder the success of
the Arabs might throw in his way, but no less determined to leave the
field the moment the fortune of the day appeared to be against them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account