sing crest of land in
the horse-pasture commanded the house, and was lined with the assailants.
And on the right, the hedge of the same paddock afforded them a dangerous
cover. It was in this place that a Samoan sharpshooter was knocked over
by Jaeckel with his own hand. The fire was maintained by the Samoans in
the usual wasteful style. The roof was made a sieve; the balls passed
clean through the house; Lieutenant Sieger, as he lay, already dying, on
Hufnagel's bed, was despatched with a fresh wound. The Samoans showed
themselves extremely enterprising: pushed their lines forward, ventured
beyond cover, and continually threatened to envelop the garden. Thrice,
at least, it was necessary to repel them by a sally. The men were
brought into the house from the rear, the front doors were thrown
suddenly open, and the gallant blue-jackets issued cheering: necessary,
successful, but extremely costly sorties. Neither could these be pushed
far. The foes were undaunted; so soon as the sailors advanced at all
deep in the horse-pasture, the Samoans began to close in upon both
flanks; and the sally had to be recalled. To add to the dangers of the
German situation, ammunition began to run low; and the cartridge-boxes of
the wounded and the dead had been already brought into use before, at
about eight o'clock, the _Eber_ steamed into the bay. Her commander,
Wallis, threw some shells into Letongo, one of which killed five men
about their cooking-pot. The Samoans began immediately to withdraw;
their movements were hastened by a sortie, and the remains of the landing-
party brought on board. This was an unfortunate movement; it gave an
irremediable air of defeat to what might have been else claimed for a
moderate success. The blue-jackets numbered a hundred and forty all
told; they were engaged separately and fought under the worst conditions,
in the dark and among woods; their position in the house was scarce
tenable; they lost in killed and wounded fifty-six,--forty per cent.; and
their spirit to the end was above question. Whether we think of the poor
sailor lads, always so pleasantly behaved in times of peace, or whether
we call to mind the behaviour of the two civilians, Haideln and Hufnagel,
we can only regret that brave men should stand to be exposed upon so poor
a quarrel, or lives cast away upon an enterprise so hopeless.

News of the affair reached Apia early, and Moors, always curious of these
spectacles of war,