A haversack, water bottle, belts, cap pouch, and ammunition
pouch, were also handed to each to their utter bewilderment, and
it was easy to foresee that at the end of the first day's march the
whole of these, to them utterly useless articles, would be thrown
aside. They brightened up, however, when the guns were delivered to
them. The first impulse of each was to examine his piece carefully,
to try its balance by taking aim at distant objects, then to
carefully rub off any little spot of rust that could be detected,
lastly to take out the ramrod and let it fall into the barrel, to
judge by the ring whether it was clean inside.
Thence the visitors strolled away to watch a number of Houssas in
hot pursuit of some bullocks, which were to be put on board the
steamers and taken up the river to the great camp. These had broken
loose in the night, and the chase was an exciting one. Although
some fifty or sixty men were engaged in the hunt it took no less
than four hours to capture the requisite number, and seven Houssas
were more or less injured by the charges of the desperate little
animals, which possessed wonderful strength and endurance, although
no larger than moderate sized donkeys.
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