Page:History of India Vol 7.djvu/80

 52 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE PORTUGUESE reinforcements, at last came " driving up with the flood " against us, only to " make away as fast as they might " from our guns. The next day, February 9th, after a like attack and retreat (probably a feint), they sent two fire-ships down on our little squadron, in the night. But the frigates that towed them lost heavily under our guns, and hastily cast off the fire-ships, which passed us without harm. On February 10th another attempt with fire-ships and frigates failed. Meanwhile Downton, fearing that the galleons might land their troops and march on Surat, had so disposed his ships as to attack them if they tried to disembark their fight- ing men. The Portuguese viceroy reluctantly realized that he was outwitted in strategy and beaten in fighting. On February 11, 1615, his unwieldy galleons, which had been reduced to inaction through fear of the shallows, dropped down southwards to the bar, and on Febru- ary 13, 1615, the armada sailed away and was no more seen. Downton admits that throughout the long strug- gle he never saw men fight more bravely than the Por- tuguese. He himself had obtained supplies from shore by means of country boats, armed by the English fac- tory at Surat— craft which eventually mounted two to six small pieces of cannon and, under the name of grabs or gallivats, became the nucleus of our Indian navy. The Moghul governor watched the progress of the fighting, and probably felt that Downton 's strategy had saved Surat from a land-attack by the Portuguese. He now threw himself heartily on the side of the Eng-