226 



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



[Vol. XX. 



to Cotta : which Dom Diogo accepted, and appointed the 

 time for three days thence, of which he sent to inform Pedro 

 de Atayde Inferno, who on the day fixed sallied forth from 

 Cotta with one hundred and fifty men, and sent two pachas, 

 men of the jungle, to discover the enemy and ascertain what 

 force they had, and return and inform him ; and if they 

 did not find the Bicanarsinga, to go on to Columbo, and tell 

 Dom Diogo de Atayde to hasten with what provisions he could 

 bring, as he was waiting for him on the Outer inho das Pedras 1 , 

 half a league from Gotta. These pachas proceeded to Columbo , 

 and told Dom Diogo that the Bicanarsinga had not appeared, 

 nor were there any troops on the road. On this news there 

 set of? from Columbo without the captain's orders a casado 2 

 captain of twenty men, who was called Joao Rodrigues 

 Piercedfoot 3 , and took with him an arache named Francisco 

 de Almeyda with twenty-five lascarins, who carried some 

 provisions to leave in Cotta ; and having marched as far 

 forward as a tree that they call carcapuleira* , they en- 

 countered the whole army of Raju, who was waiting for Dom 

 Diogo, and they fell upon him, and surrounded him, and 

 killed Pierced-foot with ten Portuguese, and the arache and 

 lascarins, and took from them their regimentals : wherefore 

 Dom Diogo and Pedro de Atayde always suspected that tha 

 pachas had been bribed by Raju. 



Pedro de Atayde received information where he was of 

 what had taken place, wherefore he returned to Cotta as it 

 were by force, since the captains that accompanied him made 

 him return, because he himself wished to go and attack Raju, 

 Things being in this state, as Raju had his eyes on Columbo, 

 a week after this had occurred he one night broke up his camp 

 as noiselessly as he could, and sat out marching on Columbo, 

 thinking that he would take it unawares, of which Pedro de 

 Atayde was soon advised, and in great haste he dispatched 



1 Literally "the Hillock of the Stones." (The maims ript has outei- 

 rinhos.) From the distance given, it is evident that some eminence at 

 Borella or Welikada is meant. 



2 See supra, p. 186, note \ 



3 Pe fur ado, literally " bored foot." He had probably in some fight 

 received a shot or thrust through one of his feet. 



4 This is a hybrid word, -eira being the common Portuguese termi- 

 nation in names of trees, while carcapuli represents Tamil korukkai- 

 puli, the goraka, Garcinia Cambogia (see Hob. -Job. s.v. " Corcopali "). 

 This goraka tree was evidently a conspicuous one ; but where it stood, 

 it is impossible to say. The manuscript has, erroneously, sarsapuleira, 

 the copyist having in his mind, apparently, the word sarQaparilha. 



