The 26th We Departed, Having
With Us Forty Carts, Loaded With Indigo And Other Goods, And Came On The
27th To Mundeves,[139] Where The Gates Were Shut Upon Us By Order Of
Sarder Khan.
This put us in much doubt, and we procured a person to
speak with the governor, who told him
Of letters he had received from
Mucrob Khan, nabob of Surat, informing of the gallant action of our
general at Swally and the safety of Surat from the Portuguese, through
the bravery of the English. It was therefore agreed that we should not
depart without a sufficient guard, which was to be ready for us next
day. We did not however depart till the 29th; and, at Brodrah, the men
belonging to Sarder Khan procured more soldiers to assist them, as there
were several companies of rajputs lying in the way to intercept us, and
many robberies and murders were committed daily in that part of the
country.
[Footnote 139: This name also is so corrupted as not to have any
resemblance in the modern geography of Hindoostan. - E.]
On the 2d of February, while passing through a narrow lane inclosed on
both sides with hedges, we were assaulted by above 300 rajputs, where we
could not hurt them, as they did our caffila or caravan by their arrows
and shot. We therefore made all the haste we could to gain the plain,
while they in the mean time cut off two of our carriages. Having got to
the open ground we made a stand; but the rajputs betook themselves again
to their hedges, to look after their prey, lest one thief should rob
another. Many of our party were hurt on this occasion, among which was
Humphrey Elkington. Next day we got to Baroach, and on the 5th to Surat,
where we returned thanks to Macrob Khan for the care he had taken of our
safety.
Hearing of an assault to be made next day on our ships by the
Portuguese, we got his leave to go down to Swally and went aboard, but
the Portuguese deceived our expectation. On occasion of the last attempt
of the Portuguese to set our ships on fire, by means of four fire-boats
chained together, four of them were taken in smaller boats, which
captives confessed that this was the last attempt of the viceroy for
this year, as he was now under the necessity of returning to Goa, for
want of water and provisions. One of these captives, taken in Swally
roads, and carried aboard the New-year's Gilt, emitted the following
declaration: -
Examination of Domingo Francisco, on the 20th of February, 1615.
"He saith, that he was born in Lisbon, being the son of a mariner, and
served under Nunna d'Acunha in the seafight against Captain Best, in
one of the four galleons. He afterwards went to Macao on the coast of
China, and returned thence to Goa; where, after remaining ten months, he
was ordered on board a galleon called the St Antonio, in this expedition
for the road of Swally, where he was made prisoner on the 8th of this
month.
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