412 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [June, 1907. 



First Naval Battle, 'iZrd Jaiiuary, 



On the evening of 22nd January, ^ the scouts (qarStawals) of 

 Ibn Husain [167, h] brouglit news that the enemy's flotilla 

 having come from Chatgaon was staying in the creek of Kathalia 

 six hours' journey from their place. Ibn Husain, after informing 

 the Imperial and Nawwabi servants who were on board most of the 

 ships, got ready for action. At night he sent a few ships to the 

 mouth of the creek, telling the passengers to keep a good look 

 out. Next morn, the scouts reported that the enemy's flotilla had 

 started from Kathalia to fight the Imperial nawwara and mitrht 

 come immediately. Ibn Husain, after sending a man to inform 

 Buzurg Uramed Khan of the matter, set out to meet the enemy, 

 though the wind had freshened, and the sea was raging in billows 

 threatening to sink the Imperial ships Abul Qasim, w^ho was in 

 the ship of Muhammad Beg [168, a] Abakash, narrates that 

 when in this tempest he unmoored his ship to join Ibn Husain, 

 one ofthe Turkish soldiers standing on the bank cried to M, 

 Beg Abakash in Turki, "Are you mad, that you put your 

 boat out during tempest in such a deep and terrible sea ? " He 

 replied, " Brother, if I were not mad, I should not have become a 

 soldier!" Farhad Khan, Mir Murtaza, and Haiat Khjin ad- 

 vanced by land to co-operate with the navy, following the road 

 cleared by the men of the ships. Beyond the clearing they could 

 not go on account of the density of the jungle. 



Ten ghurabs and 45 jalhas of the enemy came in sight and 

 begat! to discharge their guns. Captain Moor and the other 

 Feringis, who led the van, boldly steered their ships up to the 

 enemy, Ibn Husain coming behind them. The enemy could not 

 resist the onset; the men of their ghurahs jumped overboard, and 

 the jalbas took to flight. Ibn Husain, seizing the ghurahs, wanted 

 to pursue. But the Bengal sailors, who had never even seen in 

 their minds the vision of a victory over the Magh fleet, [168, 6] 

 objected, saying that that day*s victory — the like of which even 

 centenarians had not seen — ought to content them. Ibn Husain 

 had to yield; but, advancing a little from the spot where the 

 ghurahs had been captured, he decided to stay there till evening 

 and to return to the creek of Khamaria at night. 



Suddenly two or three ships with flags (hairaq) were seen 

 afar off. The Maghs, when they left the Kathalia creek that 

 morning for fight and reached the creek of Hurla close to Kha- 

 maria, in their pride left their larger ships— called khdlu and 

 d/twrn,— -and [some] other ships here, and sent on only ten ghurahs 

 and 4i^ Jalbas as sufiicient for [defeating and] capturing the Impe- 

 rial flotilla. The two or three ships with flags now seen were 

 among these hhalus left in the creek. 



_ Ibn Husain encouraged his crew, saying, "Now that the 

 fugitive JaZbas have joined their larger fleet, the enemy have surely 



roentions the 23rd as the day of the lattle (next day). ' V ' 



