Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/275

Book IV. his town and fort from hostilities. Whilst an officer deputed for this purpose was settling the terms, a cannon shot from the fort was by some accident fired into the camp. The Sepoys, vexed at the negotiation, which disappointed their expectations of plunder, seized on this opportunity to break it off, and under pretence of resenting the insult, rushed into the Pettah, and broke open the houses; the poor surprized inhabitants were incapable of making resistance; but it being apprehended that the garrison might sally from the fort, a party of Europeans were sent to support the Sepoys. Tuekea-saheb, ignorant of the cause of this sudden act of violence, imputed it to treachery, and ordered his garrison to fire at the troops they saw in the Pettah. This brought on farther hostilities; the English bombai-ding the fort with two mortars, and the garrison keeping up a constant fire from their musketry and cannon until morning; when a parly ensued, which explaining matters, the troops were recalled out of the Pettah, and the contribution was settled at 300,000 rupees, which were paid the same day.

The Morattoes during this expedition were continually roaming for plunder, which they took indifferently, as well in the countries acknowledging the Nabob as in the districts of disaffected chiefs; at the same time that they were doing this mischief, they expected to be paid, only because they had it in their power to do more by openly joining his enemies.

The army returned from Vandiwash to Trivadi, where they prepared to canton themselves during the rainy monsoon, which began on the 31st of October at night, with the most violent hurricani that had been remembered on the coast; the rain that fell continually for several days after laid the whole country under water, and spread such a sickness amongst the troops, as obliged them, on the 15th of November, to retire to Fort St. David; which place affording quarters only for the English, most of the Nabob's men, unaccustomed to remain in the field in this inclement season, left him, and went to their homes.

By this time the regent at Seringham, perceiving that the Nabob and the English had made so little advantage of their success at Bahoor, recovered from the consternation he had been struck with by