The Irish standard., 1900-05-12
in the jungles,. and always with disas-
~. A ~

time had the best of it. The rebels,
finding the jungle no longer available
for concealment or escape, were COM
PEELED to intrench themselves in two or
three forts in the neighborhood of Ka-
lansatan. The English had not yet made
any concentrated movement against
these points, but preparations were soon
under way for storming them Very
shortly the fort at Kalansatan was
wrested from the rebels, who were driv-
Ell from the stronghold with the loss OF
few men, while the British forces suf-
fered little or nothing in killed and
wounded. The rebels in possession OF
the fort saw they were vastly outnum-
bered and after making brief show OF
resistance rcsorted to the old trick OF
setting up dummies to cover their re-
treat The British riddled the dummies
and rushed into the fort, only to find it
deserted.
In way the Kalansatan fort COM
manded the fort OF Salleh, but the latter
stronghold occupied an almost impreg-
nablc position and it was found impossi-
bic to surround it completely. In
trenched in such position as this the
rebels were able to defy their enemies
for some days. Their British adversa-
ries had no cannon just then sufficiently
heavy to do any effective work against
the Notifications, ordinary as they were.
There was no course left but to make
an infantry attack and to cndeavor to
carry the fort by storm. Under fire from
the rebels the British made dash for
the outer works where they were
stopped by stout bamboo fence. The
upper ends OF the rods had been sharp
encd and this in addition to their height
above the ground rendered scaling i'm
possible. The soldiers began cutting
through the barrcade As soon as the
first opening was made there occurred a
remarkable instance OF courage and dar-
ing. A Javancsc boy named Leyman,
who was servant of one of the resident
British officials, dashed through the hole
in the stockade and with big can Of oil
in one hand and flaming torch in the
other ran toward the fort buildings. The
rebels, yelling and bowling, turned their
heaviest fire on the boy. The soldiers.
who were now pouring through the
openings in the bamboo fence, soon
drew most OF the fire from the lad I'm
daunted by the bullets whistling about
Ills head Lcyman dartcd from building
to building and soon half a dozen OF
them were in flames. The rebels brought
into play small brass cannon, which
at the third shot exploded. With the ex-
plosion the rebels abandoned the fort to
the enemy a number of them were
captured, however, and the remainder
who had escaped the bullets darted into
underground tunnels and escaped.
But the rebels had not yet been con-
qucred. They rallied most OF their
forces in the fort of Mat later, one OF
Sallek's chiefs, and Mat Salleh himself
assumed command here. The day after
the taking OF the fort of Salleh the
British began an attack on Eaters fort.
a scvcn-pound gun was brought for
ward within a few hundred yards OF the
outer works and continuous fire
poured into the fort The British hest
tatcd to attempt charge against the
tort, for it was of immense strength
and stood upon bluff. overlooking a
river and it would have been impossible
to storm and take it without great
loss OF liie-much greater than would
have been justified Therefore the bonn
bardment was resortcd to. Finally a
shell set fire to one Of the buildings and
the whole fort was burned to the
ground Here it was found there had
been the same tunncling and holes made
iii the ground rs al the utilcr forts.
The rebel forces fled from the burning
tort and, excepting the few who were
killed or captured, retired to their last
Tort OF any consequence. This tort was
not so far distant that it could not be
shelled from the commanding position
which had been occupied by Jatcr. For
ten days the fort was bombardcd so Wig
orously that Sallch and his men were
compelled to live in their underground
holes and tunnels Many OF these I'M
foreground places were underneath the
tort buildings themselves. Those who
had the temcrity to expose themselves
III the day time were made targets OF by
the sharpshootcrs, who picked off
scores OF men. On one occasion a fool
hardy Bornean appeared on the fort wall
and shouted defiance at the enemy. A
rifle cracked and a ball passed through,
both legs Of the patriot The man fell
outside the walls and no sooner struc,
the ground than he scrambled into a
sitting posture and turning his face to
the enemy tore open his shirt, exposing
his naked breast. A half score of rifles
rang out and six or seven bullets entered
the spot the poor rebel had barred Tor
them
Early in the siege an effort was made
to cut off the water supply from the be-
lcaguered fort, which was entirely de-
pendent upon river that ran past one
corner of the fence. Some distance I'D
tlle stream r,,1o 1,,,, ,,,,. communicated