For This Purpose He Collected A
Powerful Army, Yet Endeavoured In The First Place To Attain His Ends By
The Most Infamous Means Of Secret Policy.
With this view he gained over
a Portuguese of a base character, named Ruy Freire, to poison the
great cistern or reservoir of water, to set the magazine of the castle
on fire, and to admit him by a concerted signal into the place.
But this
treacherous design was frustrated by the information of an Ethiopian, a
Turk and a female slave, who revealed the plot to the commander, Don
Juan Mascarenhas, who had succeeded Emanuel de Sousa. As Mascarenhas
became aware of the storm that was gathering against him, he prepared to
meet it as well as possible, and sent notice of his danger to the
governor-general, Don Juan de Castro, and to all the neighbouring
Portuguese commanders. The garrison in the castle of Diu at this time
amounted only to 210 men: Of these Mascarenhas assigned 30 for the
defence of each of the four bastions; his lieutenant had charge of a
tower or bulwark over the gate with 20 men; other 20 were placed in a
small detached work; and he retained 50 men as a body of reserve under
his own immediate command, to act wherever the greatest danger might
call for his presence.
By this time a considerable number of men were collected by the enemy in
the city of Diu, among whom were 500 Turks sent from Mokha by the king
of Zabid, and Khojah Zofar came on with all his power, resolving to
attack the sea bastion by means of three castles well stored with cannon
and ammunition, which were built upon a ship of vast size; within the
castles were 200 Turks, who were intended to distract the attention of
the defendants by continually pouring in all sorts of artificial
fireworks. This device was however abortive, as Jacome Leite went by
night in two small vessels with twenty men, and though discovered he
succeeded in setting the floating castle on fire, a great part of which
blew up with all the Turks, and the remainder of the ship burnt with so
great a flame that the enemy was seen in whole battalions running to
quench the fire. Seeing the enemy in clusters, Jacome pointed his cannon
among them and killed many: After this exploit, he proceeded to the
mouth of the river, where he took some vessels loaded with provisions
belonging to the enemy, with which he returned to the fort to the great
admiration of the whole garrison, having seven of his men wounded in
this gallant and successful exploit.
Though frustrated in this design, Khojah Zofar persisted in his
intentions of besieging the castle, for which purpose he began to
rebuild the wall which had been destroyed by De Sousa.[365] This could
not be prevented, though many of the workmen were killed by the cannon
of the fort, and being at last brought to perfection Zofar planted upon
it sixty pieces of large cannon, besides many of a small size. One of
these cannons was of such extraordinary magnitude that it shook the
whole island every time it was discharged, and it was managed with much
expertness by a renegade Frenchman in the service of Zofar. At this time
Don Ferdinand de Castro, son to the governor arrived with a
reinforcement. Mascarenhas having expressed a desire of acquiring some
intelligence from the enemys camp, one Diego de Anaya Coutinno, a
gentleman of note and of great strength, put on a helmet with a sword by
his side and a spear in his hand, and let himself down from the wall
under night. He soon discovered two Moors at some distance from the
fort, one of whom he slew with his spear, and taking up the other in his
arms ran with him to the gate of the fort, calling out for admission,
and threw him in, to the great surprise and admiration of his
companions. Coutinno had borrowed a helmet, which he had engaged his
word to restore or die in its defence. It happened to fall off in the
scuffle, and he did not miss it till demanded, by its owner. He
immediately let himself down again from the wall to look for the helmet,
which he found and restored.
[Footnote 365: This second siege of Diu appears to have commenced about
the beginning of March 1545. - E.]
Shortly afterwards an extraordinary movement was observed in the
besieging army, of which Mascarenhas was desirous to know the cause. On
this account six men sallied out at night from the castle, and fell upon
an advanced party of sixty Moors, some of whom they killed; but the rest
awaking, and being joined by others, the Portuguese were forced to
retreat after losing two of their number; but the remaining four
brought in a prisoner along with them, who reported that the king of
Cambaya was arrived from Champanel with 10,000 horse, on purpose to
see the capture of the castle, which he was assured by Zofar must soon
fall. This exploit so incensed the king and Zofar, that they pressed the
siege with the utmost fury, and did much harm to the works of the castle
by incessant discharges from their numerous artillery. But the renegade
Frenchman, who managed their greatest gun, was slain by a chance shot,
and the gunner who succeeded him was so ignorant that he did more harm
to his own party than to the Portuguese. All the neighbourhood
continually resounded with the incessant noise of the cannon, mixed with
the cries and groans of dying men; when a ball from the fort happened to
go through the kings tent, and sprinkled him all over with the blood of
one of his favourites, who was torn to pieces close by him. This so
terrified the king, that he immediately abandoned Diu, leaving the
command of the horse to Juzar Khan a valiant Abyssinian.
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