Running water, and the
sides of the valley under the mountains being as usual a mass of debris
of huge detached rocks, were thronged with villages, all strongly
fortified with thick bamboo palisades. The whole country was a series of
natural forts, occupied by a large population.
A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient; - to fight a way
through a valley a quarter of a mile wide, hemmed in by high walls of
rock and bristling with lances and arrows, would be impossible with my
few men, encumbered by transport animals. Should the camels arrive, I
could march into Myria in twenty minutes, make the chief a large
present, and pass on without halting until I cleared the Ellyria valley.
At any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced march at night,
however distressing, had been successful. The great difficulty now lay
in the ravine that we had just crossed; this would assuredly delay the
caravan for a considerable time.
Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock beneath the shade of a
small tree within ten paces of the path, and considered the best course
to pursue. I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone, before
the arrival of my whole party, as we had been very rudely received by
the Tollogo people on the previous evening; - nevertheless I thought it
might be good policy to ride unattended into Ellyria, and thus to court
an introduction to the chief.
