Sivagi, the founder of the Mahratta Empire, had, in 1662, seized and fortified Yijiyadrug; or, as the English call it, Gheriah, a town at the mouth of the river Kanui, one hundred and seventy miles south of Bombay; and also the island of Suwarndrug, about half way between Gheriah and Bombay. Here he established a piratical fleet. Fifty years later, Kanhagi Angria, the commander of the Mahratta fleet, broke off this connection with the successors of Sivagi, and set up as a pirate on his own account. Kanhagi not only plundered the native vessels, but boldly preyed upon the commerce of the European settlements. The ships of the East India Company, the French Company, and the Dutch were frequently captured by these pirates.
Tulagi Angria, who succeeded his father, was even bolder and more successful; and when the man-of-war brig, the Restoration, with twenty guns and two hundred men, was fitted out to attack him, he defeated and captured her. After this, he attacked and captured the French man-of-war Jupitre, with forty guns; and had even the insolence to assail an English convoy guarded by two men-of-war; the Vigilant, of sixty-four guns, and the Ruby, of fifty.
The Dutch, in 1735, sent a fleet of seven ships of war, two bomb vessels, and a strong body of troops against Gheriah. The attack was, however, repulsed with considerable loss. From that date the pirates grew bolder and bolder, and were a perfect scourge to the commerce of Western India.
Charlie Marryat had, of course, frequently heard of the doings of these noted pirates, and the cry of "Tulagi Angria" at once explained to him the terror of the master and crew.
"What is it, Mr. Charles, what on earth is the botheration about? Is it the little ships they're afeared of?"
"Those ships belong to a pirate called Tulagi Angria," Charlie said, "and I am very much afraid, Tim, that we are likely to see the inside of his fortress."
"But shure, yer honor, we're not afeared of those four little boats."
"We are, Tim, and very much afraid, too. Each of those boats, as you call them, carries four or five times as many men as this ship. They are well armed, while we have only those two little guns, which are useless except for show. If the crew were Englishmen, we might attempt a defence, although even then the odds would be terribly against us; but with these natives, it is hopeless to think of it, and the attempt would only ensure our throats being cut."
It was clear that the idea of resistance did never even enter the minds of the crew of the trader. Some ran to and fro, with gesticulations and cries of despair. Some threw themselves upon the deck of the vessel, tore their hair, and rolled as if in convulsions. Some sat down quietly, with the air of apathetic resignation, with which the natives of India are used to meet what they consider the inevitable.
Hossein, who, at the first alarm, had bounded to his feet with his hand on his knife, subsided into an attitude of indifference, when he saw that Charlie did not intend making any defence.
"It's mighty lucky," Tim said, "that yer honor left all your presents to be forwarded to Madras. I thought you were wrong, Mr. Charles, when you advised me to send them thousand rupees the rajah gave me, along with your money. A hundred pounds wasn't a sum that Tim Kelly was likely to handle again in a hurry, and it went agin the grain with me, to part with them out of my hands. Sure and it's well I took yer honor's advice."
The four Sepoy officers also exchanged a few words with Charlie. They, too, would have resisted, had he given the word, hopeless though the effort would have been. But they acquiesced, at once, in his decision. They had little to lose; but the thought of a prolonged captivity, and of being obliged, perhaps, to enter the service of the Mahratta freebooters, just when about to return to their wives and families at Madras, was a terrible blow to them.
"Keep up your spirits," Charlie said. "It is a bad business, but we must hope for the best. If we bide our time, we may see some chance of escape. You had better lay down your arms in a pile, here. Then we will sit down quietly, and await their coming on board. They will be here in a minute, now."
Scarcely had the seven passengers taken their seats in a group, on the poop, when the freebooters ranged alongside, and swarmed over the sides onto the deck. Beyond bestowing a few kicks upon the crew, they paid no attention whatever to them; but tore off the hatches, and at once proceeded to investigate the contents of the hold. The greater portion of this consisted of native grains, but there were several bales of merchandise, consigned by traders at Calicut for Ceylon. The cargo was, in fact, rather more valuable than that generally found in a native coaster, and the pirates were satisfied.
The leader of the party, leaving to his followers the task of examining the hold, walked towards the group on the poop. They rose at his approach.
"Who are you?" the Mahratta asked.
"I am an officer in the English Company's service," Charlie said, "as are these five natives. The other Englishman is a soldier, under my orders."
"Good," the Mahratta said, emphatically. "Tulagi Angria will be glad to have you. When your people capture any of our men, which is not often, they hang them. Tulagi is glad to have people he can hang, too."
After being stripped of any small valuables on their persons, the captives were taken on board one of the pirate boats. A score of the Mahrattas remained in charge of the trader. Her head was turned north, and, accompanied by the four Mahratta boats, she proceeded up the coast again. Another trader was captured on the way, but two others evaded the pirates, by running into the port of Calicut.
The trader was a slow sailer, and they were eight days before they approached Gheriah. Early in the morning a heavy cannonade was heard in the distance, causing the greatest excitement among the Mahrattas. Every sail was hoisted, the sweeps got out and, leaving the trader to jog along in their rear, the four light craft made their way rapidly along the coast. The firing became heavier and heavier, and as it became light, three large ships could be seen, about two miles ahead, surrounded by a host of smaller craft.
"That's a big fight, Mr. Charles," Tim exclaimed. "It reminds me of three big bulls in a meadow, attacked by a host of little curs."
"It does, Tim; but the curs can bite. What a fire they are keeping up. But those warships ought to thrash any number of them. Count the ports, I can see them now."
"The biggest one," Tim said, "has got twenty-five."
"Yes; and the others eighteen and nine. They are two frigates, one of fifty and the other of thirty-six guns; and a sloop of eighteen. I can't make out the colours, but I don't think they're English."
"They're not English, yer honor," Tim said confidently, "or they would soon make an end of them varmint that's tormenting them."
The scene, as the boats approached, was very exciting. The three ships were pouring their broadsides, without intermission, into the pirate fleet. This consisted of vessels of all sizes, from the Jupitre and Restoration, down to large rowing galleys. Although many were sunk, and more greatly damaged by the fire of the Dutch, they swarmed round the great ships with wonderful tenacity; and, while the larger vessels fought their guns against those of the men-of-war, the smaller ones kept close to them, avoiding as much as possible their formidable broadsides, but keeping up a perpetual musketry fire at their bulwarks and tops, throwing stink pots, and shooting burning arrows through the ports; and getting alongside under the muzzles of the guns, and trying to climb up into the ports.
The four newly arrived craft joined in the fray.
"This is mighty unpleasant, yer honor," Tim said, as a shot from one of the Dutch men-of-war struck the craft they were in, crashing a hole through her bulwarks, and laying five or six of her crew upon the deck, killed or wounded by the splinters. "Here we are, in the middle of a fight in which we've no consarn whatever, and which is carried on without asking our will or pleasure; and we are as likely to be killed by a Christian shot, as these hathen niggers.
"Hear them yell, yer honor. A faction fight's nothing to it. Look, yer honor, look! There's smoke curling up from a hatchway of the big ship. If they haven't set her afire!"
It was as Tim said. A cloud of black smoke was rising from the Dutch fifty-gun frigate. A wild yell of triumph broke from the Mahrattas. The fire of their guns upon her redoubled, while that from the man-of-war died away, as the crew were called off to assist in extinguishing the flames. Now the smaller boats pressed still more closely round her, and a rain of missiles was poured through the open ports. Several times the Mahrattas climbed on board, but each time were driven out again. The smoke rose thicker and thicker, and tongues of flame could be seen shooting up.
"She is doomed," Charlie exclaimed. "Even if unmolested, the crew could not extinguish the fire, now. It has got too much hold.
"Ah! The other frigate is on fire now."
Fresh yells of triumph rose from the Mahrattas. On board the sloop every sail was hoisted, in spite of the continued fire of muskets and arrows, which killed many of the sailors employed. The Jupitre, however, ran alongside her and grappled with her, and a furious combat could be seen proceeding on the decks. Meanwhile, the flames mounted higher and higher on board the two frigates. The crew now could be seen leaping overboard from the ports, choosing any death rather than that by fire.
It was but a choice. Many were drowned, the rest cut or shot down by the Mahrattas. Down came the Dutch flag, fluttering from the masthead of the sloop, and the wild Mahratta yell proclaimed that the victory was everywhere complete.
The frigates were now a sheet of flames, and the Mahratta craft drew away from them; until, with two tremendous explosions, their magazines blew up and they sank beneath the waters.
"I should scarcely have believed it possible," Charlie said, "that three fine ships of war, mounting a hundred and four guns, could be destroyed by a fleet of pirates, however numerous. Well, Tim, there is no doubt that these natives can fight, when well led. It is just as well, you see, that we did not attempt to offer any resistance, in that clumsy craft we were on board."
"You're right there, yer honor. They would have aten us up in five minutes. It makes my heart bleed, to think of the sailors of those two fine ships. I don't believe that a soul has escaped; but in the small one, some may have been taken prisoners."
When the fight was over, the craft in which were the captives ran alongside the flagship of the pirate leader, and the captain reported to him the capture he had made. Fortunately, Tulagi Angria was in a high state of delight, at the victory he had just won; and, instead of ordering them to be instantly executed, he told the captain to take them on to Suwarndrug, and to imprison them there until his arrival. He himself, with the rest of his fleet, and the captured Dutch sloop, sailed into Gheriah; and the craft, in which Charlie and his companions were imprisoned, continued her course to the island stronghold of the pirates.
Suwarndrug was built on a rocky island. It lay within gunshot of the shore. Here, when Kanhagi Angria had first revolted from the authority of the Mahratta kingdom, the ruler of the Deccan had caused three strong forts to be built, in order to reduce the island fort. The pirates, however, had taken the initiative, and had captured these forts; as well as the whole line of seacoast, a hundred and twenty miles in length; and the country behind, twenty or thirty miles broad, extending to the foot of the mountains.
On their arrival at Suwarndrug, the prisoners were handed over to the governor, and were imprisoned in one of the casemates of the fort. The next day, they were taken out and ordered to work; and, for weeks, they laboured at the fortifications, with which the pirates were strengthening their already naturally strong position. The labour was very severe, but it was a consolation to ............