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.
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