Perhaps a dozen balls whistled about him ere he had crossed the dangerous passage and dropped on the farther side into the crow’s-nest; the white men, briskly following, escaped unhurt.  The crow’s-nest was built like a bartizan on the precipitous front of the position.  Across the ravine, perhaps at five hundred yards, heads were to be seen popping up and down in a fort of Tamesese’s.  On both sides the same enthusiasm without council, the same senseless vigilance, reigned.  Some took aim; some blazed before them at a venture.  Now—­when a head showed on the other side—­one would take a crack at it, remarking that it would never do to “miss a chance.”  Now they would all fire a volley and bob down; a return volley rang across the ravine, and was punctually answered:  harmless as lawn-tennis.  The whites expostulated in vain.  The warriors, drunken with noise, made answer by a fresh general discharge and bade their visitors run while it was time.  Upon their return to headquarters, men were covering the front with sheets of coral limestone, two balls having passed through the house in the interval.  Mataafa sat within, over his kava bowl, unmoved.  The picture is of a piece throughout:  excellent courage, super-excellent folly, a war of school-children; expensive guns and cartridges used like squibs or catherine-wheels on Guy Fawkes’s Day.

On the 20th Mataafa changed his attack.  Tamasese’s front was seemingly impregnable.  Something must be tried upon his rear.  There was his bread-basket; a small success in that direction would immediately curtail his resources; and it might be possible with energy to roll up his line along the beach and take the citadel in reverse.  The scheme was carried out as might be expected from these childish soldiers.  Mataafa, always uneasy about Apia, clung with a portion of his force to Laulii; and thus, had the foe been enterprising, exposed himself to disaster.  The expedition fell successfully enough on Saluafata and drove out the Tamaseses with a loss of four heads; but so far from improving the advantage, yielded immediately to the weakness of the Samoan warrior, and ranged farther east through unarmed populations, bursting with shouts and blackened faces into villages terrified or admiring, making spoil of pigs, burning houses, and destroying gardens.  The Tamasese had at first evacuated several beach towns in succession, and were still in retreat on Lotoanuu; finding themselves unpursued, they reoccupied them one after another, and re-established their lines to the very borders of Saluafata.  Night fell; Mataafa had taken Saluafata, Tamasese had lost it; and that was all.  But the day came near to have a different and very singular issue.  The village was not long in the hands of the Mataafas, when a schooner, flying German colours, put into the bay and was immediately surrounded by their boats.  It chanced that Brandeis was on board.  Word of it had gone abroad, and the boats as they approached