Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/120

112 ran very rapidly. The Coolies, who carried the less bulky parts of the baggage, marched before the troops, and as soon as they came to the bank of the rivulet, were fired upon with great vivacity from the. thickets. Timorous, as are all the lower casts of Indians, they plunged into the stream, which was seven or eight feet deep, and pressing upon one another with outcries and confusion, lost by their fears the strength necessary to save themselves, and in less than a quarter of an hour 400 of the poor wretches were drowned. The troops, spectators of this disaster, halted, and fired to dislodge the enemy, until the tide had ebbed sufficiently; when they passed the rivulet without interruption, and continuing their retreat unmolested, arrived at Chilambarum late at night, much fatigued with the skirmishes they had sustained, and with a march of 15 miles: the next day they returned to Fort St. David.

The intelligence gained during this expedition, convinced every one that the cause of Saujohee was destitute of abettors amongst his countrymen. The presidency nevertheless determined to continue the war; but this resolution did not now proceed so much from the intention of restoring Saujohee, as from the desire of wiping out, by some success, the reproach of having retreated before the arms of an Indian prince, and from the views of making some acquisitions to compensate the expences which had already been incurred. The Fort of Devi-Cotah is situated in a populous country, in which manufactures of linnen proper for the company's trade are fabricated; and the neighbouring territory is the most fertile part of the coast of Coromandel. On this coast, from Masulipatam to Cape Comorin, there is no port capable of receiving a ship of 300 tons burden; which defect subjects the navigation of these parts to great risques at particular seasons. The mouth of the river Coleroon, near Devi-Cotah, is indeed generally obstructed by sands, but the channel within the bar is deep enough to receive ships of the largest burden; and it was thought that the bar itself might with some labour and expence be removed: if this should be effected, the greatest advantages would accrue to the European nation which should obtain the exclusive possession