single Fellata had a musket. The enemy kept up a slow and sure
fight, seldom throwing away their arrows, until they saw an
opportunity of letting fly with effect. Now and then a single
horseman would gallop up to the ditch, and brandish his spear, the
rider taking care to cover himself with his large leathern shield,
and return as fast as he went, generally calling out lustily, when he
got amongst his own party, "Shields to the walls! You people of the
gadado, (or atego, &c.) why do you not hasten to the wall?" To which
some voices would call out, "Oh, you have a good large shield to
cover you." The cry of "Shields to the wall!" was constantly heard
from the several chiefs to their troops; but they disregarded the
call, and neither chiefs nor vassals moved from the spot. At length
the men in quilted armour went up "per order." They certainly cut not
a bad figure at a distance, as their helmets were ornamented with
black and white ostrich feathers, and the sides of the helmets with
pieces of tin, which glittered in the sun; their long quilted cloaks
of gaudy colours reaching over part of their horses' tails, and
hanging over the flanks. On the neck, even the horses' armour was
notched or vandyked, to look like a mane; on his forehead, and over
his nose, was a brass or tin plate, also a semicircular piece on each
side. The rider was armed with a large spear, and he had to be
assisted to mount his horse, as his quilted cloak was too heavy; it
required two men to lift him on. There were six of them belonged to
each governor, and six to the sultan. It was at first supposed, that
the foot would take advantage of going under cover of these unwieldy
machines; but no, they went alone, as fast as the poor horses could
bear them, which was but a slow pace. They had one musket in Coonia,
and it did wonderful execution; for it brought down the van of the
quilted men, who fell from his horse like a sack of corn thrown from
a horse's back at a miller's door, but both horse and man were
brought off by two or three footmen. He got two balls through his
breast; one went through his body and both sides of the tobe; the
other went through and lodged in the quilted armour opposite the
shoulders.

The cry of "Allahu akber!" (God is great), the cry of the Fellatas,
was resounded through the whole army every quarter of an hour; but
neither this nor "Shields to the walls!" nor "Why do not the gadado's
people go up?" had any effect, except to