About noon the hill was assaulted on all sides that were accessible, and the ancient spirit of the troops seemed to revive upon seeing the enemy were the aggressors. Without any aid of musquetry, the king's foot repulsed Coque Abou Barea, and drove him from the hill into the plain, without any considerable stand on his part: the same success followed against Mammo and Heraclius; they were chased down the hill, and several of their men pursued and slain on the plain; but a large reinforcement coming from the camp, the king's troops were driven up the hill again, and Tesfos, with his musquetry, had made a lodgment in a pit on the low side of one of these stone-walls Ras Michael had built for his own defence, from which he fired with great effect, and the king's troops were obliged to fall back to the brow of the hill immediately below the tent, and that of the Ras's. In a moment appeared Woodage Asahel, with a large body of horse, supported likewise with a considerable number of foot. This was the most accessible part of the hill, and under the cover of Tesfos's continued fire: they mounted it with great gallantry, the troops above expecting them with their irons fixed at a proper elevation in the ground; for it must be here explained, that no Abyssinian soldier in battle rests his gun upon his hand, as every one is provided with a stick about four feet long, which hath hooks, or rests, on alternate intervals on each side, and which he sticks in the ground before him, and rests the muzzle of his gun upon it, according to the height of the object he is to aim at; and here is discovered the fatal and most unreasonable effect of fear in these troops, who have not the knowledge or practice of fire-arms, and are about to charge, for as soon as they hear this noise of planting the sticks, (which is somewhat louder than that of our men cocking their musquets) they halt immediately, and give the fairest opportunity to their enemies to take aim; and, after thus suffering from a well-directed fire, they fall into confusion, and run, leaving the musquetry time to recharge. This is as if they voluntarily devoted themselves to destruction; for if, either upon hearing the noise of setting the sticks in the ground, or before or after they have received the fire, the horse were to charge these musqueteers, having no bayonets, at the gallop, they must be cut to pieces every time they were attacked by cavalry; the contrary of which is always the case.