This Morning Also, While Expecting An Assault From The Portuguese, I Was
Visited By One Mousa Attale, A Malabar Captain,
Together with his
troop, from whom I got a description of the principal ports and harbours
of his country, expressing
My anxious desire to become acquainted with
them, and to have league and intercourse between them and the English,
with mutual trade and friendship. He seemed willing to encourage this
proposal, and requested letters to that effect from me, which their
ships might shew to my countrymen when they happened to meet, which I
gave him, as also a letter for his king, requesting kind usage for my
countrymen if any of their ships should come into his harbours. After
some conference, he departed, and I presented him with a sword-blade,
and three or four knives.[128] This day the master of the Hope
represented that he had several men killed in the former engagement, and
many hurt, bruised, and disabled from service, on which I sent him three
men from my ship, four from the Hector, and four from the Salomon.
[Footnote 128: These knives, so often mentioned as presents in India,
were probably daggers. - E.]
The 5th I had letters from Mr Aldworth, informing of his arrival at
Baroach with his companions, and saying that he had been set upon by 200
Rajput thieves, nine coss from Baroach, the day before, the thieves
being armed with pikes, matchlocks, and bows and arrows; but, after some
skirmishing, they fled, three of them being slain, and more wounded. In
this affair Humphrey Elkington was shot through the thigh with an arrow,
one of the horsemen sent by Surder Khan to guard our people was killed,
and Mr Aldworth's horse sore wounded. The nabob sent me word that the
viceroy proposed to assault me this day, and therefore sent Coge Nozan
to guard the land. Nozan came accordingly to the water side, and sent
his son, Mamud Iehad, to visit me on board, accompanied by a chief
named Kemagee, the son of Leckdarsee, rajput chieftain of Guigamar
or Castelletto,[129] who had for a long time maintained war with the
Moguls and Portuguese. These chiefs entreated permission to see and
partake in the fight, and as no assault was made that day, they remained
all night on board. The rajput chief went ashore next morning, but the
other remained on board two or three days, and seeing the enemy would do
nothing, he went likewise ashore.
[Footnote 129: On a former occasion supposed to have been
Jumbosier. - E.]
On the forenoon of the 8th, we received more indigo aboard, and in the
afternoon all the Portuguese frigates, with the two junks, and two
gallies, came driving up with the flood, as if for some attempt against
us, either by fire, which I most doubted, or otherwise. We therefore got
under weigh and advanced to meet them, upon which they all made off as
fast as they could, and we came again to anchor. This was merely a
device, to make us believe their fire-boats were to come against us
from the south, and that we might have no suspicion of their coming from
the northwards; wherefore they again assembled all their junks,
frigates, and galleys next night, a little without the sands, to call
our attention from the northern quarter. But I was aware of that being
the place of greatest danger; and though I commanded a careful outlook
to be kept both ways, I especially enjoined to be watchful in the north
quarter, as it fell out accordingly. A little within the night, between
us and a great light to the westwards, upon the island of Gogo, we could
discern them creeping up to the north upon the flood; and then, about
ten o'clock at night, when very dark, and before the moon rose, upon the
last quarter of the ebb tide, there came down towards us two fire-boats,
towed by two frigates, which we happily descried before they came nigh,
and plied them heartily both with great guns and small arms. By this we
soon beat off the frigates, which set the fire-boats adrift, and made
sail from us.
One of the fire-boats drifted clear of the Gift, Hector, and Salomon,
but got athwart the cable of the Hope, and presently blew up; but,
blessed be God, the Hope received no harm, having cut her cable and got
clear. The other fire-boat came up likewise on the quarter of the Hope,
all in flames, but did no harm, as she drifted past with the ebb. She
came up again with the tide of flood, and was like to have got foul of
us; but our boats towed her ashore continually burning. The former one
floated likewise back with the flood, but sank near us in the morning.
This day I had a letter from Thomas Kerridge, specifying that Nicholas
Whittington had gone distracted, and expressing some doubts of Richard
Steel.
The 10th, at night, about the same time as before, two other fire-boats
came against us, towed by four or five frigates, bearing directly on the
Hector. Immediately on perceiving them, the Gift and Hector let drive at
them with great guns and small arms, so that the frigates threw them
adrift, firing them sooner than they otherwise would. The burning boats
floated toward the Hector, but having a stiff breeze, drifted past to
leewards. Within half an hour after, we perceived many boats drifting
towards the Hector, against which we again let drive, forcing the
frigates to abandon them in such a hurry that they only set two of them
on fire, there being four of them chained together. Fortunately we had
a stiff gale, and by edging up to windward, they all floated clear to
leeward. While passing, our gunner made a shot at one of the boats that
was unfired, which struck her and set her on fire. The vehemence of the
flames reached the fourth boat, and set her likewise on fire; so they
all drifted ashore in flames, hard by our landing-place.
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