who, hearing us arrive, or warned by their scouts, had formed in open order, and had posted large bodies of men in the wood on each side of the road by which we were arriving. These first volleys, being fired at from thirty to one hundred yards from our line, did more damage to each other than to us, most of the bullets passing over our heads. How de Wouters escaped on this and subsequent occasions it is hard to imagine: six feet five inches in height, and nearly always dressed in white, he was the man of all others who served as a mark for the Arab riflemen.

On this occasion, a body of Arabs charged into our line between de Wouters and me, in the hope of taking Kirongo — “ the Heron,” as he was called both by our men and the enemy. Their orders were to take “the Heron,” alive or dead, and to