The Calicut Fleet Now
Approached In Most Formidable Order, Having Several Fire Rafts In Front,
Intended For Setting Our Caravels On Fire.
After them came 110 paraws,
full of men, and every one of them having ordnance, many of these being
fastened together by means of chains.
After these came 100 _catures_ and
eighty _tonys_, each of which had a piece of ordnance and thirty men. In
the rear of all came the eight castles, which kept close by the point of
_Arraul_, as the _ebb was not yet altogether entered_.[7] The enemy came
on with loud shouts and the sound of many instruments, as if to an
assured victory, and immediately began a furious cannonade. Their fire
rafts advanced burning in a most alarming manner, but were stopped by the
_canizos_, or rafts of defence, formerly mentioned. By these likewise,
the paraws and other vessels of the enemy were prevented from closing
with our caravels and boats, which they seem to have intended. In this
part of the battle many of the paraws and other vessels of the enemy were
torn to pieces and sunk, and a great number of their men were killed and
wounded. On the turn of the tide, the floating castles put off from the
point, and were towed by boats towards the caravels. In the largest of
these castles there were forty men, in others thirty-five, and the
smallest had thirty, all armed with bows or matchlocks, besides ordnance;
and they seemed quite an irresistible force in comparison of ours, which
consisted only of two caravels and two armed boats.
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