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1675] killed a Rajah of his army* "at a distance of four miles" and caused the prompt retreat of the Marathas. (Fryer, i. 332.)

At the end of January 1675, a band of 3,000 Maratha cavalry under Dattaji roved in the Kolhapur district. The town of Kolhapur saved itself by paying 1,500 hurt, and Shongaon (near Gargoti, about 30 miles south of Kolhapur) 500 hurt. In the middle of February, a Mughal force crossed the Ghats, fell on the town of Kalian, burnt the houses (including those of many Khojas) and then quickly retired, when the Marathas re-occupied the place. (F. R. Surat 88, Rajapur to Surat, 6 Feb.; Vol. 107, Bomb, to Surat, 27 Feb., 1675.)

Shivaji next opened delusive peace negotiations with Bahadur Khan, who eagerly swallowed the bait, as he was weary of the war and at his wit's end how to guard all parts of his viceroyalty against such a mobile and elusive enemy. For nearly three months (March — May) Shiva kept the Mughals in play, by feeding false hopes of a peace. † His real