No. 35. — 1887.] captuke op trincomalee. 125 



April 20. — In the morning at break of day, Vice-Com- 

 mander Coster, the Fiscal Herbers, Captain-Major Martin 

 Scholtes, and Sea-Captain Daniel Jansz, with seven boats 

 rowed to a certain enclosed bay lying about 3 miles 

 N.N.W. from the ships, in order to inspect not only the 

 situation of that place and how they could land their men 

 and guns there without resistance, but also how the Fort and 

 its outposts could be safely attacked and besieged most 

 advantageously. On their way in to the aforesaid bay they 

 found it at the mouth 30 fathoms deep with a strong 

 coral bottom, and, stretching from the east point a little 

 inwards, a small stony reef with a depth of not more than 

 3 fathoms, which could easily be avoided by hugging the 

 west coast a little. In the middle, opposite the bay, the 

 anchorage was mostly good from 20 to 6, 5, and 4 fathoms, 

 rising by half and whole fathoms, and the ships could lie right 

 against land and sail at pleasure backwards and forwards, 

 and the boats come so close to shore that one could step 

 out without wetting the feet. The land was moreover, 

 thickly overgrown with scrub. The roads and footpaths, 

 which in some places were somewhat narrow, were, however, 

 strong and level, so that ordnance could easily be taken over 

 them — only the wild growth had to be cut away on the sides 

 and the paths made broader. The Fort, so far as we could see, 

 had three bastions : one on the west side commanding the bay 

 in which lay five to six boats like chmnboox, and others 

 of a smaller build. Close to land, the beach being nice, 

 white, and sandy, a little in shore stood some houses roofed 

 with atap. Here it was possible to effect a landing under 

 fire from their cannon, by means of small boats, the land on 

 the south side being higher than the Fort, so that some guns 

 could be placed on that eminence and fired from above into 

 the Fort. The bastion at the north end of the Fort is intended 

 to guard against the attack of a force from the main land. 

 They inspected it so closely, that if a person who was known 

 to them had appeared on it they would have been able to 



recognise him amongst the others. The wood was so thick 



c 2 



