The Mine Was Countermined; But The Continual Labour To Which The Besieged Were Subjected Became Insupportable, And They Were Utterly Unable To Repair The Many Breaches In Their Works.

At this conjuncture, four vessels arrived from the viceroy Don Garcia, and landed only a reinforcement of twenty men.

Solyman was much concerned at this relief though small, and was astonished the fort should hold out against so many assaults, more especially as Zofar had assured him he might carry it in two. At the beginning of the siege the garrison consisted of six hundred men, many of whom were slain and several of the cannon belonging to the fort had burst; yet Solyman began to lose confidence, and looked anxiously to the sea, fearful of the Portuguese fleet which he had learnt was coming against him. This induced him to press the siege more vigorously, especially against the sea bulwark where Antonio de Sousa commanded, which was furiously attacked by fifty barks, two of which were sunk by the Portuguese cannon. The Turks made several attempts to scale this bulwark, in all of which they were repulsed with great slaughter, yet returned repeatedly to the charge with similar bad fortune. Sousa sent off his wounded men from the rampart to have their wounds dressed. Among these was a person named Fernando Ponteado, who waiting his turn heard the noise of a fresh assault, and forgetting the dressing ran immediately to his post where he received a fresh wound. Going back to get dressed, a third assault recalled him before the surgeon had time to attend to his wants, and he was a third time wounded, and at length returned to get all his three wounds dressed at once.

By this time, out of the original garrison of 600 men, only 250 remained that were able to stand to their arms. Solyman was almost in despair of success, yet resolved to make a desperate effort to carry the place. In hopes of putting Sylveira off his guard, and to take the place by surprise, he sent twelve of his gallies to sea, as if he meant to raise the siege; but Sylveira was not to be lulled into security, and continued to exert the utmost vigilance to provide against every danger. One night some noise was heard at the foot of the sea-wall of the castle, where it appeared that the enemy were applying great numbers of scaling ladders. Every effort was made to oppose them during the darkness of the night, and when morning broke, the place was seen beset all round by at least 14,000 men. The cannon of the fort was immediately directed against the assailants, and the garrison mounted the walls in every part, but chiefly near the governors house where the defences were weakest, but where Sylveira had placed such people as he could most rely upon. Being repulsed from thence with great slaughter, the enemy made an attempt on an adjoining bulwark, where Gouvea commanded, and poured in prodigious showers of bullets and arrows.

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