Page:History of the French in India.djvu/103

 DOST ALI DEFEATED AND SLAIN. 81 assembled under the orders of Raghuji Bhonsla — serv- chap. ing under whom, his first campaign, was the afterwards. 1, famous Murari Rao — and had marched eastward with 1739. the avowed intention of plundering the long-untouchecl Karnatik. But Dost Ali was not prepared to grant them an easy ingress. Learning, towards the end of 1739, that they were approaching by the Damalcheri pass in the northern Arkat district, he occupied that strong position with the only troops at his disposal, amounting to about 10,000 men, and sent pressing orders to his son, Safdar Ali, and to his son-in-law, Chanda Sahib, to hasten to his assistance. But both Safdar Ali and Chanda Sahib were prosecuting their conquests in the south of India, and though they pro- fessed their readiness to obey the summons they had received, they moved, especially Chanda Sahib, with slow and unwilling steps. Before they could arrive, the Ma rath as had approached the pass. This, as the most important, was held by Dost Ali in person, but there was a gorge, or opening, to the south of his posi- tion, the defence of which he had intrusted to one of his commanders, a Hindu. This latter had allowed himself to be seduced from his allegiance, and permitted the Maratha army to march through the gorge he was guarding on the night of the 19th May. The Marathas thus secure of their prey, moved SAviftly at daybreak the next morning on the rear of the position occupied by Dost Ali. This chieftain, noticing the approach of cavalry, imagiiied that his son, Safdar Ali, had arrived to reinforce him, and was only undeceived when their movements indicated undisguised hostility. Driven to bay, however, he determined to sell his life dearly. The battle which ensued was, notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, contested most desperately, and it only terminated when Dost Ali himself and his second son, Hasan Ali, lay dead upon the field, and his first minis- ter, Mir Asad, had been taken prisoner. Almost all G