I was so absorbed in contemplating this interesting scene, that I entirely forgot my own personal safety; for the vizier, without my becoming aware of it, had pursued the track on his powerful charger at an uncommonly quick rate, and was far in advance. Looking around me, I found only a small number of Shúwa horsemen near me, and keeping close to them pursued the path; but when we emerged from the thick forest, and entered another well-cultivated and thickly-peopled district, every trace of a trodden footpath ceased, and I became aware that I was entirely cut off from the main body of the army. A scene of wild disorder here presented itself. Single horsemen were roving about to and fro between the fences of the villages; here a poor native, pursued by sanguinary foes, running for his life in wild despair; there another dragged from his place of refuge; while a third was observed in the thick covert of a ficus, and soon became a mark for numerous arrows and balls. A small troop of Shúwa horsemen were collected under the shade of a tree, trying to keep together a drove of cattle, which they had taken. In vain did I address Shúwa and Kanúri, anxiously inquiring what direction the commander-in-chief had taken; nobody was able to give me any information with regard to his whereabouts. I therefore scoured the village in all directions, to see if I could find by myself the track of the army; but the traces ran in every direction. Here I fell in with several troops of horsemen, in the same state of uncertainty as myself, and joined one of them, where there were some heavy cavalry; neither the attendants of the vizier, nor the man who carried his carpet, could tell which direction he had taken. While anxiously looking about, I suddenly heard behind us the beating of a drum or “gánga,” and following the sound found a considerable number of horsemen, of every description, collected on an open area; and here I received the exciting news that the pagans had broken through the line of march at the weakest point, and that while the vizier had pursued his track, the rear had been dispersed. If these poor pagans, who certainly are not wanting in courage, were led on by experienced chieftains, and waited for the proper opportunity, they would be able in these dense forests, where cavalry is scarcely of any use, to do an immense deal of damage to this cowardly host, and might easily disperse them altogether. But the principal reason of the weakness of these Músgu tribes is, that they have only spears and the “góliyó,” and no arrows; else they would certainly be able to keep these troublesome neighbours at a respectful distance. Of what little use even the firelock is to the latter, I had ample opportunity of judging, several musketeers having come to me anxiously entreating me to provide them with flints, as their own had been lost or had proved useless.