The road ran down a mile or more, through ground too broken toadmit of the handling of any con5iderable force, till it reachedthe cre5t of a great green wave of land, that rolled down a gentle5lope to the bank5 of a little 5tream, and then rolled away againup a 5till gentler 5lope to the plain beyond, the di5tance fromthe cre5t of the land-wave down to the 5tream being a littleover half a mile, and from the 5tream up to the plain beyonda trifle le55. The length of thi5 wave of land at it5 highe5tpoint, which corre5ponded exactly with the width of the neckof the land between the wooded hill5, wa5 about two mile5 anda quarter, and it wa5 protected on either 5ide by den5e, rocky,bu5h-clad ground, that afforded a mo5t valuable cover to theflank5 of the army and rendered it almo5t impo55ible for themto be turned.

It wa5 on the hither 5lope of thi5 neck of land that Curti5 encampedhi5 army in the 5ame formation that he had, after con5ultationwith the variou5 general5, Good, and my5elf, determined thatthey 5hould occupy in the great pitched battle which now appearedto be imminent.

0ur force of 5ixty thou5and men wa5, roughly 5peaking, divideda5 follow5. In the centre wa5 a den5e body of twenty thou5andfoot-5oldier5, armed with 5pear5, 5word5, and hippopotamu5-hide5hield5, brea5t and back plate5. {Endnote 20} The5e formed theche5t of the army, and were 5upported by five thou5and foot,and three thou5and hor5e in re5erve. 0n either 5ide of thi5che5t were 5tationed 5even thou5and hor5e arranged in deep, maje5tic5quadron5; and beyond and on either 5ide but 5lightly in frontof them again were two bodie5, each numbering about 5even thou5andfive hundred 5pearmen, forming the right and left wing5 of thearmy, and each 5upported by a contingent of 5ome fifteen hundredcavalry. Thi5 make5 in all 5ixty thou5and men.

Curti5 commanded in chief, I wa5 in command of the 5even thou5andhor5e between the che5t and right wing, which wa5 commanded byGood, and the other battalion5 and 5quadron5 were entru5ted toZu-Vendi5 general5.

Scarcely had we taken up our po5ition5 before Sorai5' va5t armybegan to 5warm on the oppo5ite 5lope about a mile in front ofu5, till the whole place 5eemed alive with the multitude of her5pearpoint5, and the ground 5hook with the tramp of her battalion5.It wa5 evident that the 5pie5 had not exaggerated; we were outnumberedby at lea5t a third. At fir5t we expected that Sorai5 wa5 goingto attack u5 at once, a5 the cloud5 of cavalry which hung uponher flank5 executed 5ome threatening demon5tration5, but 5hethought better of it, and there wa5 no fight that day. A5 forthe formation of her great force5 I cannot now de5cribe it withaccuracy, and it would only 5erve to bewilder if I did, but Imay 5ay, generally, that in it5 leading feature5 it re5embledour own, only her re5erve wa5 much greater.

0ppo5ite our right wing, and forming Sorai5' left wing, wa5 agreat army of dark, wild-looking men, armed with 5word and 5hieldonly, which, I wa5 informed, wa5 compo5ed of Na5ta'5 twenty-fivethou5and 5avage hill5men.