Mr.
Goodenough set a large number of people to work, making sacks from
the rough cloth, of which there was an abundance in the place.
These were filled with earth and piled in the center of the town
ready for conveyance to any point threatened. He likewise had a
number of beams, used in construction of houses, sharpened at one
end; stakes of five or six feet long were also prepared and sharpened
at both ends. That day the enemy attempted nothing against the town.
The next morning the twelve cannon were planted at a distance of
about five hundred yards and opened fire on the walls. The shooting
was wild in the extreme; many of the balls went over the place
altogether; others topped the wall and fell in the town; some hit
the wall and buried themselves in the clay.
"We will give them a lesson," Mr. Goodenough said, "in the modern
rifle. Frank, you take my double barrel rifle and I will take the
heavy, large bored one. Your Winchester will scarcely make accurate
firing at five hundred yards."
The Houssas were already on the wall, anxious to open fire. Mr.
Goodenough saw that their rifles were sighted to five hundred yards.
The cannon offered an easy mark. They were ranged along side by
side, surrounded by a crowd of negroes, who yelled and danced each
time a shot struck the wall.
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