Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/180

172 the place: they refused, and mann'd the walls. The English troops, under cover of a bank, fired at them for some hours, but finding that this attack made little impression, they prepared towards evening to make a general assault, when the sight of the scaling ladders induced the governor to surrender. Leaving a garrison of twenty Europeans and fifty Sepoys in the pagoda, they continued their march to the westward, and were soon after joined by 100 Europeans detached by captain Cope from Tritchinopoly, and 2000 horse, with 2000 foot, the remainder of the Nabob's troops, under the command of his brother Abdul-wahab Khan. The army, after this junction came in sight of that of Chunda-saheb, which lay encamped in the neighbourhood of Vol-condah. This is a very strong fortress, 90 miles from the coast, situated in the great road between Arcot and Tritchinopoly: its principal defence is a rock 200 feet high, and about a mile in circumference at the bottom, where it is inclosed by a high and strong wall, mostly cut out of the solid rock; near the summit it is enclosed by another wall, and the summit itself is surrounded by a third: adjoining to the eastern side of the rock, on the plain, is a fort built of stone, contiguous to which lies a town slenderly fortified with a mud wall. The river Val-aru, after running due east, forms an angle about a mile to the north of Vol-condah, where it turns to the south, and in this direction passess close by the western side of the rock, and winding round it, reassumes its course to the eastward along the southern side of the fort and town. Captain Gingen encamped in a large grove about a mile and a half to the southwest of Vol-condah: and in this situation the advanced guards were in sight of those of Chunda-saheb, whose camp lay about four miles to the north of that part of the river which runs east before it strikes to the south. Here he had been some days endeavouring to persuade the governor to put him in possession of the fort; and Abdul-wahab Khan, equally sensible of the importance of the place, made offers likewise to induce him to deliver it up to Mahomed-ally. The man knowing the advantage of his post, had given evasive answers to Chunda-saheb; and replied to Abdul-wahab Kahn, that he waited to see a battle before he gave