It is much to be regretted that the
various governments of Europe do not insist that their old guns
shall be used only as old iron. The price obtained for them is
so trifling as to be immaterial, and the great proportion of them
find their way to Africa to be used in the constant wars that are
waged there, and to enable rich and powerful tribes to enslave and
destroy their weaker neighbors. The Africans use very much heavier
charges of powder than those in used in civilized nations, ramming
down a handful of slugs, of half a dozen small bullets, upon the
powder. This does not conduce to good shooting, but the noise made
is prodigious. The Abeokutans, on the other hand, were principally
armed with bows and arrows, as, having no direct access to the sea
coast, it was difficult for them to procure guns.
The Dahomans poured up in a mass to the foot of the wall, and then a
score of rough ladders, constructed of bamboo, and each four feet
wide, were placed against the walls. Directly the point to be
attacked was indicated, Mr. Goodenough had distributed his cauldrons
of boiling oil along the walls, and had set men to work to pierce
holes through the parapet at distances of a couple of feet apart,
and at a height of six inches from the ground.
Pages:
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265