nnon. Five boats, filled with
sailors instantly left our vessels to support the attack, and, by this
time, the colonists had reached a massive rock which blocked the beach
like a bulwark, and was already possessed by the natives. My position,
in flank, made my force most valuable in dislodging the foe, and of
course I hastened my oars to open the passage. As I was altogether
ignorant of the numbers that might be hidden and lurking in the dense
jungle that was not more than fifty feet from the water's edge, I kept
my men afloat within musket shot, and, with a few rounds of ball
cartridge purged the rock of its defenders, though but a single savage
was mortally wounded.

Upon this, the colonists advanced to the vacant bulwark, and were
joined by our reinforcement. Wheeler, who commanded the Americans,
proposed that we should march in a compact body to the towns, and give
battle to the blacks if they held out in their dwellings. But his plan
was not executed, for, before we reached the negro huts, we were
assailed from the bushes and jungle. Their object was to keep hidden
within the dense underwood; to shoot and run; while we, entirely
exposed on the ocean shore, were obliged to remain altogether on the
defensive by dodging the balls, or to fire at the smoke of an unseen
enemy. Occasionally, large numbers of the savages would appear at a
distance beyond musket range, and tossing their guns and lances, or
brandishing their cutlasses, would present their naked limbs to our
gaze, slap their shining flanks, and disappear! But this diverting
exercise was not repeated very often. A sturdy colonist, named Bear,
who carried a long and heavy old-fashioned _rifle_, took rest on my
shoulder, and, when the next party of annoying jokers displayed their
personal charms, laid its leader in the dust by a Yankee ball. Our
cannon and blunderbusses were next brought into play to scour the
jungle and expel the marksmen, who, confident in the security of their
impervious screen, began to fire among us with more precision than was
desirable. A Krooman of our party was killed, and a colonist severely
wounded. Small sections of our two commands advanced at a run, and
fired a volley into the bushes, while the main body of the expedition
hastened along the beach towards the towns. By repeating this process
several times, we were enabled, without further loss, to reach the
first settlement.

Here, of course, we expected to find the savages arraye