Page:On the Coromandel Coast.djvu/328

316 to sell to the foreigner that which was neither his own property nor of any use to him. Elihu Yale was Governor of Fort St. George at the time. He quickly came to terms, and entered into possession forthwith in the name of the Company (1689). He gave it the title of Fort St. David, whether after his own Welsh patron saint or after the little son whom he had so lately lost history does not say.

It was conveniently situated, being out of sight of the Dutch and having a waterway connection with the sea by means of the river which washed the fortifications. In addition to the buildings and earthworks, the English purchased the land on which they stood. The extent of the settlement was to be decided by the firing of 'random shott' from a cannon, a truly Oriental method, which still obtains in the north among the frontier tribes. When the wild tribesman was asked why he was so eager to obtain the latest pattern of rifle, being already in possession of a good weapon, he replied: "Surely the Sahib knows that by this means alone can we enlarge our village boundaries.

There was some excitement in the gunroom at Fort St. George when the order was received for the gun of the longest range and for the best gunner to be sent to Fort St. David. The range of the different guns was tested, and a careful selection made. The chosen cannon was despatched by sea with the most expert gunner. The cannon-balls were thrown out from the ramparts in a semicircle from north to south and carefully marked down. The line included some villages and intersected others. One wonders how the villagers liked this method of demarcation for themselves as well as their wandering cattle and goats. No complaint is recorded as having been made, so it may be presumed that no casualties Occurred. The villages thus obtained are known to this