Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/421

Book V. some boats from Dabul would endeavour to throw succours into the place, he landed half his seamen, under cover of the fire of the ships, who with great intrepidity ran up to the gate, and cutting down the sally port with their axes, forced their way into it; on which the garrison surrendered: the other two forts on the main land had by this time hung out flags of truce, and the Morattoes took possession of them. This was all the work of one day, in which the spirited resolution of commodore James destroyed the timorous prejudices which had for twenty years been entertained of the impracticability of reducing any of Angria's fortified harbours.

On the 8th of April, the fleet and army proceeded to Bancoote, a fortified island which commands a harbour lying about six miles to the north of Severndroog. The place, terrified by the fate of Severndroog, surrendered on the first summons, and the Morattoes consented that the company should keep it. It is now called fort Victoria, and the country about it being subject to the Sidee, is inhabited by Mahomedans, who contribute to supply Bombay with beeves, which it is very difficult to procure in other parts of the coast, as they are under the jurisdiction of princes of the strictest cast of the Indian religion, who worship the cow, and regard the killing of that animal as the greatest of crimes.

Rama-gee Punt was so elated by these successes, that he offered commodore James 200,000 rupees if he would immediately proceed against Dabul, aud some other of the enemy's forts, a little to the southward of that place; and certainly this was the time to attack them, during the consternation into which the enemy were thrown by the losses they had just sustained. But the stormy monsoon, which on this coast sets in at the end of April, was approaching, and the commodore having already exceeded his orders, would not venture to comply with the Morattoes request without permission from Bombay: however, in order to obtain it as expiditiously as possible, he sailed away thither in the Protector; but found the presidency, notwithstanding the unexpected successes of their arms, still possessed by their ancient spirit of caution, and so sollicitous for the fate of one of their bomb ketches, a heavy flat bottomed boat incapable of keeping the sea in tempestuous weather, that they ordered him to bring back the fleet into harbour without delay. Accordingly on the 11th he delivered