At 2 am, we were startled by an outbreak' of firing. We got up and dressed and settled down to wait for the morning. The firing gradually increased in volume and before long we could here the bowls of the enemy who had apparently entirely surrounded the village. There is open country all round Kanai and no protecting wall.
At 5 am, the attack evidently started and the noise was terrific. They were evidently beaten back however, and things became quiet for a while. A glimpse out of the windows revealed a dull red glow Which conveyed to us the disturbing news that part of the village had already been fired.
Tt was a terrible night.
Every now and then a horn would sound—a low droning note like a distant foghorn. This would be followed by a deep cry taken up on all sides, exultant and fiendish, increasing in volume. There must have been Toast of the enemy, but Chinese reports, of course, put the figure as high as 6,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.