The commandant decided to halt, for the night, at a deserted village.

It was a miserable place.

The huts had all been burnt by the rebels; so that the troops had to sleep in the open, in a steady downpour of rain.

The Europeans tried to get rest in some hastily-constructed shelters, but a perfect tornado of wind was blowing, and swept the ground on which they were built.
Next day the troops marched, in their drenched clothes, through a heavy rain.

Between seven and eight, however, this ceased and, almost at the same moment, a tremendous fire burst out upon them.
The advance guard and support at once became engaged, but the enemy clung with such determination to their position, and contested every foot of the ground so stoutly, that two companies of reinforcements had to be called up.
Two companies were sent out into the bush, and eventually succeeded in getting partly behind the enemy, and forcing them to retreat.
More troops were sent out on the left; and a company was instructed to move through the bush, on an extended line.