1922] MADRAS PEARL FISHERIES 19 



"robberies, and had seized a ship that had come from Malacca 

 " very richly laden, with eight Portuguese whom they put to death. 

 'To this Manuel da Gama retaliated so well, that he cleared the 

 " coast of the robbers, and managed to get back on land all the 

 " goods from the ship which the robbers had sold, and many male 

 "and female slaves of the Portuguese whom they had killed on 

 " board the ship ; which robbers went over to Ceylon with much 

 " booty, and joined the others who had gone from Calicut, and 

 "went about robbing as much as they liked by sea and land. 

 ' The Governor sent Joao Froles as captain and factor of the 

 ' fishery, in a caravel and a large boat and three foists, with 

 ' which he went about collecting the rent of the fishery, as 1 have 

 " already said. This being known to the robbers, who went about 

 "strongly armed with artillery and men, twenty of them (paraos) 

 " came in a body to attack Joao Froles as Manuel da Gama had 

 "gone to the other coast and could not help him and they 

 " came upon Joao Froles who was in the caravel, with the large boat, 

 "the foists having gone to another place; and as they were moored 

 " and the wind was calm, twelve of the paraos made for the caravel, 

 " dividing into six on each side, and the other eight likewise 

 " divided to attack the large boat. Joao Froles, seeing the paraos 

 "preparing for the attack, made ready as well as he could with 

 "twenty Portuguese men that he had, and threw a rope to the 

 " large boat, so that the two lay stern to stern. Six Portuguese 

 " men went into the large boat : the caravel had a camello and two 

 " falcons and six bercos* and the large boat, two falcons and six 

 " bercos, but there were only a few men as several had gone to the 

 " foists that Joao Froles had sent to the coast of Ceylon as prizes. 

 " Our men having thus got ready, the paraos divided into two 

 " attacking parties, ten approaching from each side avoiding the 

 " shots from the camello, and shifting as they pleased, all the 

 " while discharging from roqucras* iron balls of the size of quinces, 

 " and firing as they liked they gave the caravel and large boat so 

 ' l many shots, that they cut their shrouds and caused them to fall 

 " with the yards, at which they set up loud shouts. Neither Joao 

 "Froles nor the master of the caravel had thought of putting belts 

 '' under the yards, which if they had done the yards would not 

 "have fallen. At this the Moors considered themselves victors, 



!S Different kinds of cannon. 



