vantage, I foolishly descended to the valley to inspect
the fighting trim of the combatants, with the result that when the signal
for the battle to begin was given I found myself under a shower of
missiles of all weights and sizes, which poured down upon me with
incredible rapidity and solidity. Piles of stones had been previously
massed together by the belligerent parties, and fresh supplies came
pelting down incessantly. I must acknowledge I did not enjoy my position
at all, for the stones went whistling past, above my head, fired as they
were with tremendous force by means of slings.

The confusion was great. Some men were busy collecting the stones into
heaps again, while others were running to and fro--going to fetch, or
carrying, fresh ammunition to the front; and all the time the two armies
were gradually approaching one another until at last they came together
on the banks of the narrow stream. Here, considering the well-directed
pelting of stones, it was difficult to say which army would succeed in
dislodging the other. Those on the opposite side to where I was made a
rush upon us, but were fired upon with such increased vigour that they
were repulsed; then, however, concentrating their forces on one point,
they made a fresh attack and broke right into our ranks, fighting _corps
a corps_, and pushing back the men on my side, until the whole of their
contingent was brought over to our side of the stream. I was not, of
course, taking any active part in the fighting, but, seeing the bad turn
the struggle was assuming, I made up my mind that I was destined to have
my own skull broken before the fray was over. Though the duelling was
fierce, however, each man being pitted against his opponent with clubs
and drawn knives, and hammering or stabbing at him to his heart's
content, I, somehow, was in no way molested, except of course, that I was
naturally much knocked about and bruised, and several times actually came
in contact, and face to face, with the irate enemy.

If you can imagine eighteen hundred people fighting by twos in a
comparatively limited space and all crowded together; if you can form an
idea of the screaming, howling, and yelling in their excitement; and if
you can depict the whole scene with its envelopment of dust, then you
will have a fair notion of what that stone-fight was like. The fighting
continued briskly for over three hours, and many a skull was smashed.
Some fell and were trampled to death