I then opened a fire upon him, both with great
guns and small arms, and in an hour had peppered him well with some
fifty-six great shot. From him we received one small ball, either from a
minnion or saker, into our mizen-mast, and with another he sunk our
long-boat, which we recovered, but lost many things out of it.
The 30th at day-light, I set sail and steered among the midst of the
Portuguese fleet, bestirring ourselves manfully, and drove three of
their four ships aground on the bar of Surat; after which I anchored
about nine a.m. This morning the Hosiander did good service, coming
through also among the enemy's ships, and anchored beside me. At the
tide of flood, the three ships that were aground floated. We then
weighed and made sail towards them, they remaining at anchor. On getting
up to them, we spent upon three of them 150 great shot, and the morning
after some fifty more. At night, we gave the admiral a salute from our
four stern guns as a farewell; in return for which he fired one of his
bow guns, a whole or demi-culverine, the shot from which came even with
the top of our forecastle, went through our Davie, killed William
Burrel, and carried off the arm of another of our men. The Hosiander[81]
spent the whole of this day in firing against one of the ships that was
aground, and received many shots from the enemy, one of which killed
Richard Barker the boatswain.
[Footnote 81: Nathaniel Salmon of Leigh was master of the
Hosiander. - Purch.]
Night coming on, we anchored some six miles from the Portuguese ships;
and at nine p.m. they sent a frigate down towards us, which came driving
right athwart halse of the Hosiander, and being discovered by their
good watch, was speedily saluted by shot. The first shot made them hoist
sail, the second went through their sails, and, they immediately made
off.[82] Their intention certainly was to have set our ships on fire, if
they had found us off our guard.[83]
[Footnote 82: This frigate was sunk by the shot, as I was assured by Mr
Salmon the actor, and eighty of her men were taken up drowned. - Purch.]
[Footnote 83: On this occasion the Portuguese had four great galleons
and some twenty-six frigates, or armed barks. In these fights they lost
all their quondam credit, and 160 men, or as others say 500; and the
English settled trade at Surat in spite of all their efforts. - Purch.]
We remained at anchor all the first December, the Portuguese not coming
to us nor we to them; though they might easily have come to us without
danger from the sands, but not so we to them.
