This little body had the whole work of drilling and keeping in
order some eight or ten thousand men. They were generals, colonels,
sergeants, quartermasters, storekeepers, and diplomatists, all at
once, and from daybreak until late at night were incessantly at work.
There were at least a dozen petty kings in camp, all of whom had
to be kept in a good temper, and this was by no means the smallest
of Captain Glover's difficulties, as upon the slightest ground for
discontent each of these was ready at once to march away with his
followers. The most reliable portion of Captain Glover's force were
some 250 Houssas, and as many Yorabas. In addition to all their
work with the native allies, the officers of the expedition had
succeeded in drilling both these bodies until they had obtained a
very fair amount of discipline.
After strolling through the camp the visitors went to look on at
the distribution of arms and accouterments to a hundred freshly
arrived natives. They were served out with blue smocks, made of
serge, and blue nightcaps, which had the result of transforming
a fine looking body of natives, upright in carriage, and graceful
in their toga-like attire, into a set of awkward looking, clumsy
negroes.
Pages:
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365