Then suddenly a stream of fire
leaped out from loophole and battlement. So well directed and
continuous was the fire, that the elephants, dismayed at the outburst
of fire and noise, and smarting from innumerable wounds, turned and
dashed away, trampling in their flight multitudes of men in the dense
columns packed behind them. These, deprived of the means upon which
they had relied to break in the gates, turned and retreated rapidly.
Scarcely less prolonged was the struggle at the breaches. At the first
breach, a very strong force of the enemy marched resolutely forward.
They were permitted, without a shot being fired at them, to cross the
dry ditch, mount the shattered debris of the wall, and pour into the
interior of the fort. Forward they advanced until, without a check,
they reached the first trench bristling with spikes.
Then, as they paused for a moment, from the breastwork in front of
them, from the ramparts, and every spot which commanded the trench, a
storm of musketry was poured on them; while the gunners swept the
crowded mass with grape, and bags of bullets. The effect was
tremendous. Mowed down in heaps, the assailants recoiled; and then,
without a moment's hesitation, turned and fled.
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