40 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVI. 



February. 



On Saturday, the 2nd February, at 2 P.M., His Excellency 

 the Governor, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Feber and 

 the Secretary, set out with the main body of the army from 

 Wisenawe and arrived at Pidroewelle, a distance of fully 

 two leagues, at 7 P.M. 



On Wednesday, the 6th, early in the morning, Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Feber set out with the advance guard from Pidroe- 

 welle and marched to Kornagalle as far as this side of that 

 hill. In the meanwhile Captain Tornay, who had set out 

 from Putulang with a corps of eight hundred men, arrived 

 on the other side of the above-named hill. Upon a given 

 signal from both sides a beginning was made to attack the 

 foe in front and in rear, and thus to bring them between 

 two fires, but this was of such consequence that the foe, 

 foreseeing the difficulty, fired some shots upon our men, took 

 to flight, and kept themselves divided into troops lower 

 down at the foot of the hills on the road to Tilliagonne. 



Captain Tor nay then formed a conjunction of his troops 

 with those of the Lieutenant-Colonel and marched further 

 on. They were attacked by a great force of Sinhalese, and 

 shot at during the onward march, till they approached a small 

 plain before Tilliagonne, three-quarters of a league from 

 Kornagalle. Here the firing became still quicker and 

 heavier, but our troops spread themselves into various 

 parties. One of these parties, with a handful of men and 

 a small fieldpiece, under the command of Captain Van 

 Sweinhauber* pursued the foe for three-quarters of a league 

 from Tilliagonne to a hill named Periekondemalle, and 

 drove them out of one battery. In this skirmish we sus- 

 tained a loss of four dead and seven wounded, but the loss 

 of the enemy could not be ascertained, though along 

 the footpaths much blood was found. Meanwhile the 



* This is probably the Schweinhauber mentioned in J. C. Wolf's Beize 

 naar Ceilon, pp. 214, 215, as having- in 1764 improved horse-breeding* in 

 the island of Delft. — A. E. B. 



