Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/502

478 The fort and town of Masulipatam are situated beyond the reach of cannon-shot asunder. The fort stands a mile and a half from the sea-shore, on the edge of a sound formed partly by an inlet of the sea partly by drains from the circumjacent ground, and still more by a continued stream which the river Kristna sends off about 15 miles to the s. w. and which falls into the upper part of the sound, very near the fort. The Sound has sometimes three fathom, and at others only three feet water; and opposite to the fort, is 500 yards in breadth. The south side of the fort extends about 600 along the Sound, and 800 from thence to the north; and its area, as well as form, would differ very little from a parallelogram of these dimensions, if the eastern side did not lie in a re-entering angle, which, however, is a very obtuse one. The ground along the seashore for two miles to the north and south of the inlet of the Sound, is a collection of sand-hills, which extend about half a mile inland, when they cease on the border of a morass, which surrounds the fort on every side, and continues to the west and south for several miles; and to the N. w. and north, there is no hard ground at less than a mile of the fort, excepting a few small spots of sand in the morass, which are near it to the N. E.: but to the east, the sand hills along the sea are within 800 yards of the walls. The morass in all directions is intersected with creeks and gullies, which fall into the sound.

The Pettah, or town of Masulipatam, is situated a mile and a half to the N. w. of the fort, on a plot of ground rising above the morass; across which, the communication between this ground and the fort is by a straight causeway 2000 yards in length. The town is very extensive, and its ground on the farther side still to the N. w. is bounded by another morass, which stretches along it from the S. w. to the N. E. but is stopped by the sand-hills of the sea-shore, along which is the only access to the town on firm ground; for both morasses are miry even in the driest season, and were so now, although no rain had fallen for 40 days.

Mr. Conflans, with all his troops, excepting the few guards in the fort, were encamped in the Pettah for the convenience of water,