Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/382

374 through defiles and passes known to very few except himself. The Morattoes under this guide entered the province of Chicacole, whilst the Rajah thinking such an inroad impossible, lay negligently encamped near his capital; were falling upon him by surprize, they gained an easy victory over his troops, and the Rajah hurried away to Masulipatnam, to demand assistance from the French. In the mean time the Morattoes carried fire and sword through the province, and more particularly directed their ravages against his patrimonial territory. Amongst other depredations they burnt the Dutch factory of Bimlapatnam, in which they found several chests of treasure; but they offered no violence to the English factory of Vizagapatnam. Mr. Moracin immediately detached all the force he had, about 150 Europeans, and 2500 Sepoys, to join the Rajah's army, who now marched against the enemy; but the Morattoes kept in separate parties out of his reach, until they had got as much plunder as they could find means to carry away; which having sent forward with a considerable escort, they, in order to secure their booty from pursuit, marched with their main body and offered Vizeramrauze battle. The fight was maintained irregularly for several hours, but with courage on both sides: the Morattoes, however, at last gave way before the French artillery: they nevertheless remained some days longer in the neighbourhood, until they heard that their convoy was out of reach of danger; when they suddenly decamped, crossed the Godaveri at a ford which they had discovered, and passing through the province of Elore, coasted the northern mountains of Condavir, until they got out of the French territories, who rather than expose their provinces to a second ravage by opposing their retreat, suffered them to proceed without interruption through several difficult passes where they might easily have been stopped. In the month of July Mr. Bussy came from Hyderabad to Masulipatnam, from whence he went to the city of Rajahmundrum, and settled the government of his new acquisitions, in which the French were now acknowledged sovereigns, without a rival or competitor; for the Morattoes, content with the plunder they had gotten, shewed no farther inclination to assist Jaffer-ally Khan in the recovery of his governments; who having no other resource left, flung