The force was now concentrated in the house and its immediate patch of
garden. Their rear, to the seaward, was unmolested; but on three sides
they were beleaguered. On the left, the Samoans occupied and fired from
some of the plantation offices. In front, a long rising crest of land in
the horse-pasture commanded the house, and was lined with the assailants.
And on the right, the hedge of the same paddock afforded them a dangerous
cover. It was in this place that a Samoan sharpshooter was knocked over
by Jaeckel with his own hand. The fire was maintained by the Samoans in
the usual wasteful style. The roof was made a sieve; the balls passed
clean through the house; Lieutenant Sieger, as he lay, already dying, on
Hufnagel's bed, was despatched with a fresh wound. The Samoans showed
themselves extremely enterprising: pushed their lines forward, ventured
beyond cover, and continually threatened to envelop the garden. Thrice,
at least, it was necessary to repel them by a sally. The men were
brought into the house from the rear, the front doors were thrown
suddenly open, and the gallant blue-jackets issued cheering: necessary,
successful, but extremely costly sorties. Neither could these be pushed
far.
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