328 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT the march was continued to the third hill. The inhabitants of this village had formed the firm resolution of defending their freedom to the uttermost ; and, determined to suffer death rather than the horror of Turkish captivity, had prepared for a most obstinate resistance. The hill was charged, but the troops were several times repulsed ; the attacks, however, were renewed, and the village was ultimately taken by storm. The scene which now presented itself to view was frightful in the extreme. Of five hundred souls who had been the peaceful inhabitants of the village, one hundred and eighty-eight only were found living. Every hut was filled with the bodies of the aged and the young indiscriminately, for those who had not fallen by the sword in battle, had put themselves to death to elude the dreadful fate of captivity. The prisoners were led away ; and the place was given up to the soldiery for plunder, but the dead were left disinterred. What a fearful scene for the few who were fortunate enough to escape the carnage by flight ! Nothing but the dead bodies of their friends and the ashes of their homes met their eye on their return !

In order to recruit the troops, a camp was now formed, and a detachment sent out in search of forage. An encampment of this description, which is always erected on the plains, consists of an irregular quadrangle, surrounded by a hedge of thorns or bushes, or sometimes even by a stone fence, in which the regular infantry, the guns, and baggage are en-