Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan.djvu/710

686 Carnatic with all the troops under his command, and to march, avoiding the Morattoes, to Bengalore. Muctoon Saheb had received the letters, when he moved from Pondicherry on the 16th of August; but concluding Hyder Ally to be in safety for a while at Bengalore, and believing either that a reconciliation would take place between him and the King, after the retreat of the Morattoes; or otherwise, that Hyder Ally might think it most expedient to come himself, and join the French, for the sake of the cessions stipulated in the treaty; he determined, although not to return to Pondicherry, to cotinue in the Carnatic, and in consequence employed, as we have seen, his troops against Trinomaly, and other places in that part of the country, until he received, in the beginning of September, farther intelligence from Hyder Ally, which left no alternative to his departure; on which he recalled the 800 horse which were at Gingee, and without solicitation, with an integrity rare in the politics of India, requested the French force to accompany them in order to receive back the possession of the fort of Thiagar, which he without stipulation tendered of his own accord. On their arrival there on the 13th of September, he fulfilled his word, claiming only on occasion their future assistance, and three days after marched away with his whole force to join his brother. The French left 200 European foot, and five companies of Sepoys in Thiagar, and the rest, being the same number of foot, 150 European horse, and three companies of Sepoys, returned to Gingee. The restitution of Thiagar, and the departure of the Mysore troops out of the province, confirmed the veracity of the king's disavowal of any participation in that expedition, and the Presidency repeated their orders to Captain Smith and the troops of Madura to cease hostilities in the Mysore districts. Previous to the receipt of these orders, Captain Smith had sent a detachment from Caroor, against a fort called Pudicotah, different from that he had taken in his approach. It stands nine miles to the N. E. of Caroor on the south bank of the Caveri. The garrison evacuated it on the appearance of the detachment, who left a party to hold it, and returned to Caroor. The want of money prevented any farther operations; for, although