and irredeemable treachery of the African character.

A Soninkee, wandering through the forest in quest of palms unreached by others in the trade, had climbed a tree overlooking its fellows, and was busily engaged in fixing his bottle in the bark of the topmost rindto be filled in a few hours by the sap or wine thus wonderfully produced-when suddenly his eyes fell upon an armed figure sneaking through the tangled brushwood, and evidently approaching with unfriendly intentions. The poor Soninkee attempted to conceal himself within the clustering leaves of the palm-bunch; but the Marabout had discovered, and now advanced with rapid stride to kill him. Long and steady was the murderer's aim; but the flint snapped harmlessly, and the damp powder fizzed in the pan. To untwist the tendrils that bound him to the tree, and descend to the ground, was the work of an instant; and the Soninkee pursued his foe, who fled precipitately towards the depths of the forest, where were lying in ambush the advance guard of his wily confederates, who had only made a sham retreat, and returned by this flank movement to fall upon their defenceless enemies in the fields. But not even when certain death thus stared him in the face did the brave Soninkee desist. On he rushed, and closing with his dastardly antagonist, dealt one mortal blow on his craven skull; and, falling forward in the man's death embrace, was immediately seized and pinioned by the Marabout outpost. Shocking was the death allotted to the reckless man by his savage captors; for, having smeared him with honey, they bound him hand and foot on an ant hill, and left him to be devoured piecemeal by the carnivorous insects!

The alarm of the renewed conflict soon spread; and although several Soninkee chiefs fell before the panic caused by the suddenness of the attack could be allayed, the Marabouts were at length driven back, and the town once more saved from destruction. The war now raged more desperately than ever, and crops were wantonly destroyed; while trade with the English settlement was confined to the purchase of muskets and ammunition, most improperly supplied by the very merchants who complained of the effects of the war as disastrous to their interests!

Renewed negotiations, however, with the needful accompaniment of costly presents,

at length induced the belligerents to patch up a temporary peace; but not before a British force had taken the field as an armed demonstration, and a British man-of-war— H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commodore Wilmot, C.B.--had anchored within range of the pertinacious foes.

But the audacious and ambitious priest, Maba-who had thus, by his machinations, plunged the country in a continuous civil war-was not likely to remain long quiet. Straight from an interview with the Governor of the Gambia, in which he had promised peace and goodwill towards men, this active warrior, at the head of 5,000 devoted followers, swept like a comet through the native kingdoms bordering upon our river; slew many people, burnt many towns, and at one time bade fair to reduce the entire country into a state of utter destitution and anarchical confusion. Thus was the war renewed; and henceforward it dragged its slow length along with varying success until the year 1866, when it became absolutely necessary, in defence of British rights and interests, to interpose a neutral power.

And here let us pause to reconsider briefly a few of these occurrences, as well as to note the nature of the forces which Colonel D'Arcy had in hand to enable him to punish the impudent crusader.

Hitherto our remarks have been confined to the mere effects of this impostor's Machiavellian policy on the south of the river Gambia. On the north bank the civil war --if we can so term a conflict of tribes acknowledging different forms of government, religion, and policy--had been waged more openly, and with, consequently, more immediately disastrous results to trade. The theory of Mahomet's destructive propagandism spreading during two centuries from Morocco to Senegal had, in fact, been carried out in the letter as well as in the spirit by Maba; and in the institution of the priestly order of Marabouts, he found a ready and accessible instrument of personal ambition. The only qualification for the office being a strict abstemiousness, this was easily affected; and the proclivities of the Soninkees-the meaning of Soninkee being a man addicted to strong drink-facilitated the measures he took to wreak his Pharisaical vengeance on misbelievers in his divine mission. Thus, as the new influences came to have weight, human life-hitherto comparatively sacred on the banks of the Gambia-was taken on

the slightest pretext; and, under the veil of religious fanaticism, the cruellest despotism was exercised.

So far back as 1861, our "Quaker-like peacefulness"* received a rude shock in the attacks made against the persons and property of our traders by the King of Baddiboo, instigated by Maba, who was then a settler in his territory. On that occasion, the conspiracy was successfully crushed at the storming and capture of the capital, Saba, by detachments consisting of 800 men of the West India regiments, under Colonel Murray, C.B., and a naval force under Commodore Edmonstone. But our success only seemed to aid the schemes of Maba, who later in the year usurped possession of the kingdom, and expelled its refractory Soninkee inhabitants. In the following year, the death of the King of Barra, whose state borders upon our "ceded mile," gave occasion for fresh complications through the usual anarchy that prevails during the established three months' interregnum.

It may here be necessary to explain that since 1826 the sovereignty of the north bank, to the extent of a mile inland from the mouth of the river Gambia eastward to a point opposite James Island, was ceded to the British by treaty, and the villages included were thus, to all intents and purposes, placed under the British crown.

Just within the limit of this ceded mile lay a large and important Soninkee town, called Jessow; and here the Soninkees took up their stand when Maba, invited by his co-religionists in Barra, ventured to invade the disorganized kingdom. "But," as the historian of these events narrates, "British | guns were now too near him to permit him | to do more than gaze upon the tempting prize. The scene was singularly impressive, and must have been not a little picturesque. The Prophet King, in full view of the coveted prey, and opposite to the representatives of British power under whose protection the terror-stricken exiles had placed themselves, was seated on a prie-Dieu chair, dreamily chanting the services of his religion, his mind being probably more deeply engaged in calculating the chances of the conflict he had so nearly provoked. A sudden resolution broke up this strange reverie; and, rising up as though he had been too long inactive,

he hastened back to Baddiboo, which during his absence had been invaded by the native King of Salem. A long and dreary course of warfare and reprisals followed, the political results of which were less decisive than the social and practical consequences were deplorable. For the beautiful Barra country, which had been the granary of our colonies on the Gambia, became a desert, and the wretched cultivators of the soil poured in upon Bathurst, leaving hundreds dead along the path of the mournful exodus, and bringing upon the Governor and the unfortunate colony a weight of misery and pauperism which needed administrative powers of no ordinary strength and elasticity to support.'

So matters went on from bad to worse; and the mysterious Marabout organizationnot unlike Fenianism, or more still, Wahabeeism, as recently explained by Mr. Taylor in the columns of the Times-spread insidiously throughout the country, until a belief became prevalent that a Marabout lurked in every household.

After the battle of Saba, in 1861, a chief named Masambar was, for his loyalty on that occasion, presented with a piece of land within the neutral ground. This roused the jealousy of the Marabouts, and gave occasion to Maba to foment the ill-feeling among his envious adherents. In June, 1866, such petty outrages as were thus encouraged, culminated in a fierce attack on Masambar's village; but, by a vigorous resistance, the latter succeeded in temporarily beating off his assailants.

The alarm of this rupture flew rapidly to Bathurst, where it was at once voted a challenge that could not be overlooked by the British Government. Timidity under the circumstances would, in fact, have compromised the safety of the settlement itself, and Colonel D'Arcy rightly resolved on a bold and adventurous policy.

Opportunely for his purpose, H.M.S. Mullet, Captain Robinson, entered Bathurst harbour; and in this ship he at once proceeded to the scene of action, and discovered that a formidable league had been formed by several towns, all lying within the ceded mile. On the 28th June, the small available British force, consisting of less than 400 men, regulars and volunteers, disembarked

from the Mullet and the small colonial steamer, Dover; and next day Colonel D'Arcy was joined by 500 allies under the Soninkee Sumar of Jessow, who naturally had made common cause against the Marabouts. These allies were detached by the Governor for the purpose of a flank movement, and at daylight on the eventful 30th of June he advanced direct upon the principal stronghold of the enemy, Tubabkolong (the White Man's Well).

Masambar's wild following, 250 strong, formed the left wing of the little force, the main body of which comprised a detachment of the 4th West India Regiment, and

about 100 Gambia volunteers.

Supported by the Mullet, the column advanced to the attack under a broiling midday sun, and very shortly opened up the commanding position held by the fanatic Marabouts. It was a large and strongly stockaded town, resting on the river, and backed by a bold rising ground. Here were concentrated upwards of 800 Marabout warriors, determined to do or die, and from behind the stockades they commenced a vigorous fusillade. Colonel D'Arcy's first design to shell the place was frustrated by the unfortunate state of his matériel of war. Powfortunate state of his matériel of war. Pow der was found to be damp; rocket-tubes burst incontinently; and, to add to his difficulties, the fire from the 68-pounder on board H.M.S. Mullet was necessarily wild, from the distance she had to lie off. For four hours an ineffectual cannonade was sustained; and in the flare of rising flames here and there throughout the town could be descried women, furnished with long bamboos, to which were attached wet cloths, and with these extemporized extinguishers they managed to check a general conflagration, while their demoniacal brethren shouted exultingly, and the war drum kept up a defiant din.

The situation became critical, and some even counselled retreat; but, happily for the credit of old England, the scion of a noble house held the issue in his hands, and he promptly and scornfully rejected the proposal.

Gathering round him the officers of the 4th West India Regiment, Colonel D'Arcy soon roused the force to fresh exertions; and a storming party was detailed to carry the town by assault, with pioneers in front so as to hew down the stockades. The officers of the forlorn hope, Lieutenants Marshall

and Jenkins, and Ensign Kelly, hastened through the ranks, inspiring the fearlessness they felt; and, as we are told, right worthily were they answered:-"Lead us, gentlemen, and never fear but we will follow."

Under a biting fire from the concealed Marabouts, the regulars steadily advancedforemost and conspicuous among them being Colonel D'Arcy, whose flowing white beard marked him out as a target for many an erring bullet.

Kelly on his right and Lieutenant Jenkins "Leaping from his horse, with Ensign to the men to 'Stand by the Governor!' were on his left, whose loud and earnest appeals heard by him even in the din of warfare, and all around, he first mounted the stockade. At this critical moment his sword was shattered to pieces; and throwing the handle over the stockade, and bidding the men to follow it, he called for an axe to cut down the stockade. Ably seconded by the piofell nobly in the moment of victory, while neers, Boswell and Hodge-of whom the one the other lives to wear the well-earned Cross of Valour-he effected an entrance into the tain Barnard, and by the volunteers under fort, supported by the regulars under CapMr. Hurst; and in a few moments the gallant but diminished band were in full possession of the stronghold of the rebellion.'

amid the clouds of smoke that hid from him

Not very long was private Hodge-who was a native of the Virgin Islands-destined to wear his decoration, for he fell a victim to cholera in British Honduras only two years subsequently.

Above the spot chosen to effect the breach rose a banting or temporary tower, erected as a vantage ground whence skilled marksmen were enabled to pick off the leaders in the attack; and here was posted a notorious elephant hunter, who, surrounded with double-barrelled guns, kept up a fatal fire against the devoted storming party, many of whom fell on the very threshold of success. Lieutenant Jenkins and Ensign Kelly, and four men of their regiment, had already met their cruel fate by the side of their gallant commander, and for some moments Colonel D'Arcy stood alone within the stockade. Seeing this, and having missed him frequently before, the Marabout chief descended from the tower, and hastened to make surety

"The Settlements of the Gambia."