Another Deserter Came From The Castle On The 15th, Who
Confirmed The Report Given By The Former, And Told Us
That the two
frigates which had assailed ours had come from Muskat, with the son of
the deceased Don Francisco
De Sousa, late governor of the castle of
Ormus, who had come on purpose to carry away his mother and other women
from the castle.
At this time, the Moors who had surrendered to us from the castle of
Kismis, were delivered up to the Persian general, at his earnest
request, and partly with their own consent, on promise of being pardoned
for having served under the Portuguese against their own king and
country, and of being provided for and employed in the siege of Ormus.
He seemed to ratify this promise, both to them and us, by entertaining
some of their chiefs in our presence, with much apparent courtesy, even
giving fine new vests to five or six of the principal officers. Yet next
morning he caused eighty of their heads to be cut off, and sent the five
or six newly-vested chiefs to the Khan at Gambroon, to receive their
final doom, which was soon settled, as they were sentenced to the same
fate with their fellows. Mir Senadine, their chief captain, was executed
by the hands of Shere Alli, governor of Mogustan, who had married his
daughter, and yet put his father-in-law to death with as much
willingness as if he had been his mortal enemy.
The 17th of April, the Persians sprung another mine, closely adjoining
their first. This did not produce the effect expected, as it burst out
at the side, carrying part of the wall along with it, yet did little or
no harm upwards, which was the point aimed at, on purpose to widen the
former breach. Yet it encouraged the Persian general to try another
assault, with at least 2000 soldiers. They ran up the breach with great
resolution, into part of a bulwark or bastion, which they might easily
have gained, had not their haste run their resolution out of breath;
insomuch, that eight or ten Portuguese, assisted by a few blacks, armed
only with rapiers, made them give ground and retire to the outer skirt
of the bulwark, where there was not room for forty men to face the
enemy. They here endeavoured, however, to entrench themselves; but,
before they could establish a lodgement, the Portuguese plied two or
three pieces of ordnance upon them from a flanking battery, which sent
some scores of the Persians with news to their prophet Mortus Alli
that more of his disciples would shortly be with them. This accordingly
was the case, chiefly owing to their own ignorance and cowardice; for,
had they not made a stand in that place, but rushed pell-mell along with
the Portuguese into the castle, they might have carried it with less
than half the loss they sustained that day to little purpose. Had I not
been an eye-witness, I could hardly have believed the stupid ignorance
of the Persian general on this occasion.
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