Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/588

564 killed and wounded in the attack, which lasted three days, and then the polygar made his escape by night. The fort was immediately razed to the ground, after which the detachment joined the main body with Mahomed Issoof, and the whole proceeding by the way of Gangadaram, arrived at Tinivelly in the middle of July. They were scarcely arrived, when Maphuze Khan, whose mind always wavered with every change of circumstances, wrote a letter to Mahomed Issoof, offering to quit his allies, and proceed to the Carnatic; provided he was allowed a suitable jaghire for his maintenance: He even asked a safeguard to come to Tinivelly. Mahomed Issoof, without authority, assured him that his requests should be complied with; and recommended them to the Presidency, by whom they were referred to the Nabob.

The midland country, for thirty miles to the north of the town of Tinivelly, is open and of great cultivation, and, lying between the eastern and western Polygars, had been the favourite field of their depredations. The principal station from which the eastern made their inroads into these districts was the fort and wood of Wootamally, situated 35 miles N. N. w. of Tinivelly. The Polygar, grown rich by easy plunder, had many colleries, who were well armed; and Mahomed Issoof soon after his arrival at Tinivelly marched against him with the greatest part of his force, and in a few days reduced his fort, in which he placed some troops; and stationed a guard of 50 horse, and some peons and colleries in a place called Shorandah, as an intermediate post. He was no sooner returned to Tinivelly, than a multitude of colleries belonging to the Pulitaver and Vadgherri surprized the guard at Shorandah, and either killed or took all their horses, with their riders; on which Mahomed Issoof detached seven companies of Sepoys, who recovered the post, and remained in it, in order to protect the adjacent country. Equal confusion prevailed in the districts to the south of Tinivelly. The troops of the Maliaver, or King of Travancore, were making incursions from their wall to seize the harvests at the foot of the hills from Calacad to Cape Comorin. The variety of distractions,