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of Hyder's country, that a plan of co-operation might be adopted 

 with the Bombay presidency, for the renewal of hostilities against 

 his possessions on the Malabar coast, at the opening of the fair 

 season. On arriving at Coimbatoor, he found Colonel Wood's 

 detachment had taken possession of the greatest part of that 

 province ; the nabob himself, with a large force, being employed 

 in obstructing the operations of Colonel Smith, in command of the 

 main army then at Colah, and preparing for the siege of Banga- 

 lore. The difficulty of bringing Hyder to a pitched battle threat- 

 ened destruction to our affairs ; for his mode of carrying on the 

 war by avoiding any decisive engagement, and by cutting off our 

 supplies of provisions, obliged us to abandon the advantages 

 almost as soon as gained, by compelling a hasty retreat for 

 Avant of provisions. In this situation the government of Madras 

 determined to equip Colonel Wood's army with a light train of 

 artillery and a picked body of sepoys ; in the hope, that by the 

 velocity of their movements they might bring Hyder to action, 

 and thereby leave Colonel Smith with the main army to proceed 

 uninterrupted to Bangalore. But however sanguine were the ex- 

 pectations of the Madras government, Colonel Wood found it a 

 vain attempt to bring the nabob to an action, although he had 

 been following him in different directions for many weeks, accord- 

 ing to the best intelligence he could obtain of his movements. 



At length Colonel Wood, completely harassed and weary of 

 the pursuit, adopted a very singular expedient to effect his pur- 

 pose : he wrote a letter to Hyder Ally, stating that it was disgrace- 

 ful for a great prince, at the head of a large army, to fly before a 

 detachment of infantry and a few pieces of cannon, unsupported 



