palisades to leap inside the kotta, fell backwards mortally wounded. A second and third shared the same fate. The Europeans, like fate’s inexorable executioner, shot every Doessonner whose head appeared above the palisades. In the meantime the other Kapoeassers had signalled the inhabitants to clear the way for them to operate, and a heavy and continuous rifle fire was discharged amongst the troop of invaders who still retained their defiant position on the ramparts. Volley after volley was poured in, and a sortie made by the besieged to attack the flank of the enemy. The invaders wavered and dispersed; the vast army of Soerapatti flying down the hill to collect and rally at its base. The withdrawal of the besiegers gave the Europeans time and opportunity to survey their position. Kotta Oepon Batoe might be called strong, nay, very strong, against a native enemy. With proper vigilance it was almost unassailable on two sides. The plateau upon which it was built was naturally divided by a cranny in the soil into two parts. A crystalline spring arose from this cranny, the water of which, rushing down the hollow, formed a foaming and turbulent torrent. For the rest, the whole plateau was bestrewn with huge blocks of rocks. Two of these especially drew the attention of La Cueille. They were enormous tabular stones, flat, but very massive, situated about a few yards from each other. Each of these rested upon a much smaller stone of a globular form, supported in such a manner that the whole of this colossal mass might be set in oscillation at the slightest pressure of the hand. The Walloon thought this very peculiar, pressed and pressed again, but could not account for the mobility of the huge piles. He stooped down and saw that both stones were elevated about three feet above the ground. He further noticed that they stood outside the ramparts, immediately on the edge of the plateau above the slope of the hollow just described. He bent over the edge of the declivity, but only saw a vast funnel-shaped shaft, through which the torrent streamed downwards. An idea struck him; he called Johannes, whispered a few words in his ears and both set to work to roll a large boulder underneath each of the two movable stones. Thus the two oscillating colossal masses were firmly supported. They then excavated the soil beneath these stones, filled the holes thus made with about twenty pounds of gunpowder obtained from the chief of the kotta, and having inserted a fuse they closed the mines with heavy lumps of rocks. This done, La Cueille led his port-fire between the palisades to the interior of the kotta, where he concealed it under a couple of fagots.