“Dangkarree
Au fey,
Oluu werrei,
Au lay,”

which may be rendered almost literally by the following couplet:—­

Air by the chief:  “Come to plunder, come to slay;”
Chorus of followers:  “We are ready to obey.”

’About three o’clock in the morning their war-song (highly characteristic of a predatory tribe) became very loud, and they commenced uttering their war-cry.  This is different from what we conceive the Indian war-whoop to be:  it seems to be a kind of imitation of the growl of wild beasts, and has a most thrilling effect.

’Fire now was set to a quantity of huts built for the accommodation of African soldiers to the northward of the barracks, as well as to the house of a poor black woman called Dalrymple.  These burnt briskly, throwing a dismal glare over the barracks and picturesque town of San Josef, and overpowering the light of the full moon, which illumined a cloudless sky.  The mutineers made a rush at the barrack-room, and seized on the muskets and fusees in the racks.  Their leader, Daaga, and a daring Yarraba named Ogston instantly charged their pieces; the former of these had a quantity of ball-cartridges, loose powder, and ounce and pistol-balls, in a kind of gray worsted cap.  He must have provided himself with these before the mutiny.  How he became possessed of them, especially the pistol-balls, I never could learn; probably he was supplied by his unmilitary countrymen:  pistol-balls are never given to infantry.  Previous to this Daaga and three others made a rush at the regimental store-room, in which was deposited a quantity of powder.  An old African soldier, named Charles Dickson, interfered to stop them, on which Maurice Ogston, the Yarraba chief, who had armed himself with a sergeant’s sword, cut down the faithful African.  When down Daaga said, in English, “Ah, you old soldier, you knock down.”  Dixon was not Daaga’s countryman, hence he could not speak to him in his own language.  The Paupau then levelled his musket and shot the fallen soldier, who groaned and died.  The war-yells, or rather growls, of the Paupaus and Yarrabas now became awfully thrilling, as they helped themselves to cartridges:  most of them were fortunately blank, or without ball.  Never was a premeditated mutiny so wild and ill planned.  Their chief, Daaga, and Ogston seemed to have had little command of the subordinates, and the whole acted more like a set of wild beasts who had broken their cages than men resolved on war.

‘At this period, had a rush been made at the officers’ quarters by one half (they were more than 200 in number), and the other half surrounded the building, not one could have escaped.  Instead of this they continued to shout their war-song, and howl their war-notes; they loaded their pieces with ball-cartridge, or blank cartridge and small stones, and commenced firing at the long range of white buildings