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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (OEYLON). 



[Vol. XX. 



of the meadow, which he found impeded with large trees, which 

 the enemy had cut down and thrown across there in order to 

 embarrass them. Here Dom Jorge was detained in giving 

 orders for clearing the road, which could not be done so quickly 

 but that there came up the war elephants that Madune had 

 already sent in aid of his son, and one of them approached 

 Dom Jorge to lift him up in its trunk ; but a soldier named 

 Pedralvarez Freire, a native of Lamego, seeing the elephant 

 over Dom Jorge, went at it, with some foot-soldiers that 

 it carried 1 , saying to them : " Here, lads ; " and raising his 

 harquebus to his face, he discharged it in that of the elephant, 

 and made it turn back with the pain of the wound upon its own 

 people, trampling on some of them, and Dom Jorge had time 

 to escape. Then came other elephants (it was these that put 

 our men to the rout) ; and one of them attacking the ensign 

 of Dom Jorge's company, he reversed the staff on which he 

 carried the banner, and thrust it into its forehead, where it 

 broke off ; but not even thus did he escape ; for as it was 

 possessed with that fury, it threw its trunk round him, and in 

 its rage flung him down and tore him in pieces. Another 

 elephant came to another soldier, called Gregoris Botelho, 

 a veteran soldier in India, and born there, who seeing it upon 

 him turned upon it with great courage and thrust a halberd 

 into its forehead with such force, that with the pain of the 

 wound he made it desist, whereby he had time to get to the 

 other side of the embankment. 



Here in this passage were killed many of our people, who 

 fought very bravely, first taking a great revenge for the death 

 they had to suffer. And yet this strait in this pass was more 

 bearable and less perilous ; but as the enemy were so many, 

 several araches with their companies made a detour, and went 

 to other passes to block the road to our people : and thus they 

 found themselves surrounded in that passage ; whereupon Dom 

 Jorge quite gave himself up for lost ; but it pleased God that 

 this was already at the end of the meadow , and to give courage 

 and presence of mind to a soldier, whose name we cannot ascer- 

 tain, who, seeing the peril in which all our people were, ran to a 

 base that our people had left there, and put fire to it ; and the 

 ball was so well directed, that it entered into the midst of the 

 enemy, and killed a few of them : which being seen by the 

 rest, thinking that this was an ambush that had been laid for 

 them there, they halted ; whereupon Dom Jorge (who had not 

 lost courage) rallied his men anew, and got time to reach the 

 vessels, which were at hand, in which he embarked, and 



1 Or "that he had" : I am not sure of the meaning. 



