Then a swarm of men set to work removing some
of the sacks, and in a short time twelve rough embrasures were made
just wide enough for the muzzles of the guns, the sacks removed
being piled on the others, raising them to the height of ten feet
and sheltering the men behind completely from the fire from the
walls.
"They will make a breach now," Mr. Goodenough said. "We must prepare
to receive them inside."
The populace were at once set to work digging holes and securely
planting the beams already prepared in a semicircle a hundred feet
across, behind the wall facing the battery. The beams when fixed
projected eight feet above the ground, the spaces between being
filled with bamboos twisted in and out between them. Earth was
thrown up behind to the height of four foot for the defenders to
stand upon. The space between the stockade and the wall was filled
with sharp pointed bamboos and stakes stuck firmly in the ground
with their points projecting outwards. All day the townspeople
labored at these defenses, while the wall crumbled fast under the
fire of the Dahomey artillery, every shot of which, at so short a
distance, struck it heavily. By five in the afternoon a great gap,
fifty feet wide, was made in the walls, and the army of Dahomey
again gathered for the assault.
Pages:
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269